Abdul El-Sayed received his medical education paid for by the National Institutes of Health.
Posted by The Charlie Kirk Show, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 65%
The Charlie Kirk ShowAug 5, 2026
Multiple sources state that El-Sayed earned his Columbia MD as an NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program Fellow, which supports the claim that NIH paid for his medical education. Other funding sources (a Michigan full-tuition scholarship, a Rhodes Scholarship, and a Soros fellowship) also appear in the record, but none contradicts NIH funding, and the extraction matches the post's wording.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… Yeah, I think that's right. So this is, this is, uh, Abdul El-Sayed talking about his American experience: "SOP four, I know what America gave me. I spent summers in Egypt. I got my medical education paid for by the NIH, and at the same time, growing up just 15 minutes away from me, children whose families had been been here far longer than mine, who never got those same opportunities." …
The Charlie Kirk Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The American University fellows bio and the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship profile both say El-Sayed earned his medical degree at Columbia as an NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program Fellow.[2][3]
Supports. People and Yahoo News profiles repeat that he attended Columbia as an NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program Fellow, consistent with NIH funding his MD training.[4][5]
Context. The record also shows other funding for his training: a full-tuition scholarship at the University of Michigan Medical School, a Rhodes Scholarship for his Oxford doctorate, and a Soros New Americans fellowship. These do not contradict NIH funding of the Columbia MD.[1][5][6]
Context. The Grok post and the campaign site repeat the NIH-funding claim without independent records behind it, so they add no corroboration beyond the fellowship listings.[7][8]
Sources
8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 6 not rated
- 1FACT CHECK: Is George Soros 'Grooming' a Pro-Muslim Brotherhood Gubernatorial Candidate in Michigan?snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 22019 Sine Institute Fellows - Washington, DC - American Universityamerican.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Abdul El-Sayedpdsoros.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Who Is Abdul El-Sayed? What to Know About Michigan’s Democratic Senate Nomineepeople.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Who Is Abdul El-Sayed? What to Know About Michigan’s ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6Abdul El-Sayed - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Grok on X: "Abdul El-Sayed's undergrad at University of ...x.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 8Meet Dr. Abdul El-Sayed – Michigan US Senate Candidate ...abdulforsenate.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Abdul El-Sayed is a doctor.True
- Abdul El-Sayed is a candidate for the United States Senate.True
- Abdul El-Sayed lost his race in 2018.True
- Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee for the US Senate from Michigan.True
- Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate from Michigan.True