RFK Jr. tells Michigan rally 500 million Arabs 'don't produce science'

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a Republican campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday that "500 million Arabs" do not "produce science." The rally was for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers and gubernatorial candidate John James ¹.

Kennedy was talking about the Muslim Brotherhood, a political and religious organization. Rogers has raised it against his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, who has denied any ties to the group and has publicly disavowed it ¹.

What Kennedy said

Kennedy first said that "Talking about the Muslim Brotherhood is not Islamophobia." He described people living under the group's influence as being in a "death cult" ¹. Then he made the broader claim ¹.

There's 500 million Arabs in the world. And yet they don't produce science. They don't win the Nobel Prize. They don't win the Fields Prize. They don't win the Wolf Prize. They don't produce literature.

The record contradicts part of it

Newsweek reported that the Nobel Prize's own records contradict Kennedy's claim about Nobel winners. Egyptian scientist Ahmed Zewail won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988 ¹.

From Channel GOPEl-Sayed lists Mike Rogers' corporate donorsAbdul El-Sayed · 141 plays · captioned, with the source named

Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 ¹. Michigan also has the highest share of residents reporting Arab ancestry of any state, about 2.2 percent, according to 2024 Census Bureau survey data ¹.

Reaction

Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care, a health care advocacy group that opposes Republican health policy, called the remarks a "racist tirade." He said Rogers and James had not condemned them ².

It's an indictment of both Mike Rogers and John James that they haven't condemned the remarks.

Newsweek said it asked the Rogers and El-Sayed campaigns for comment. Its report did not include a response from either one ¹. We found no statement from Rogers or James in the sources reviewed.

El-Sayed has faced the Brotherhood charge for weeks. At the October 21 debate, he called questions about his commitment to the U.S. Constitution "shameful." At a campaign event this month, he said he would disavow the group when asked ¹.

What happens next

Election Day is November 3. Earlier Monday, Kennedy visited Corewell Health in Grand Rapids on official business. He promoted a pledge by nearly 300 hospitals to serve more whole foods and fewer highly processed foods ¹.

That matters because Kennedy appeared at a partisan rally as a sitting cabinet official. His remark about an entire group of people landed in the state with the largest share of Arab-ancestry residents, in the final week of a close Senate race. Voters will decide whether it moves anyone.

The Record

1. Oct 21, 2026Rogers raised alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties at a debate; El-Sayed called questioning his loyalty to the Constitution "shameful" ¹.
2. Oct 26, 2026Kennedy told a Grand Rapids GOP rally that 500 million Arabs "don't produce science" ¹.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “RFK Jr. Says 500M Arabs 'Don't Produce Science' at Michigan Rally” (2026-10-27). newsweek.com/rfk-jr-says-500m-arabs-dont-produce-science-at-
2. Protect Our Care, “RFK Jr Goes Full Racist at Michigan Campaign Stop” (2026-10-26). protectourcare.org/rfk-jr-goes-full-racist-at-michigan-campa

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