That's the real weight of his counter-punch: not that Tommy is a bigot (though he kind of is), but that Tommy won't agree to play by the same set of rules he demands El-Sayed play by. Who's the outlier here?

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That gives someone like El-Sayed the opening to speak and react confidently. He knows Tommy's coming at him with a bluff and a weak hand. The only people who care about him rejecting the Muslim Brotherhood aren't going to vote for him anyway, so he doesn't have to dodge or weave, he can just attack.

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And while this crowd seemed to be mostly El-Sayed supporters, it doesn't seem like anyone was too inclined to othering, on the basis of religion, or race, or geography. I heard some pretty loud cheering for El-Sayed's repeated "or no faith."

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I don't think Tommy thought he was going to turn the room against El-Sayed — more likely he was trying to get El-Sayed to commit some gaffe that could be shared on social media — but there's a reason people like Tommy pull these stunts in towns like Caro, not Dearborn.

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The premise of Tommy's attempt at a gotcha question was based in Christian nationalism, sure, but even more so in Christian normalism, i.e., the assumption that "normal" voters are Christians.

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