# Mike Rogers

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Mike Rogers," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/mike-rogers/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*Former Republican congressman from Michigan and repeat Senate candidate, who lost narrowly in 2024 and ran again in 2026. John Kiriakou singles out his campaign advertisement calling Abdul El-Sayed a communist Trojan horse as an insult to the intelligence of Michigan voters.*

- **2024:** Lost narrowly to Elissa Slotkin
- **Position:** Former US congressman, Michigan; Senate candidate
- **Previously:** Chairman of the House intelligence committee (Kiriakou hedges this)
- **Polling cited:** Stronger against El-Sayed than against Stevens

**Mike Rogers** is a former Republican congressman from Michigan who left the House, ran for the Senate and lost, and was running again in 2026.[1][2] Kiriakou believes he chaired the House intelligence committee but flags his own uncertainty rather than asserting it: *"I believe he was the chairman of the House intelligence committee. I may be wrong on that."*[1] The 2024 race he narrowly lost was to Elissa Slotkin, whom Kiriakou identifies as *"a former CIA colleague of mine."*[3] On the [2026 primary](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/michigan-2026-democratic-senate-primary), Rogers polls well against [Abdul El-Sayed](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/abdul-el-sayed) and less well against Haley Stevens.[2]

## The Trojan horse advertisement

Rogers released an advertisement using generated imagery that called El-Sayed a Trojan horse — *"not for Islam but for communism."*[2][4] Kiriakou's verdict is that *"that ad counts on Michigan voters being morons,"* and his objection is definitional: he has *"a hard time believing that so many Republicans are so stupid as to not know that there's a difference between communism, socialism, and democratic socialism."*[4][5] To many Republicans, he argues, *"anything that is not Republican"* is communism — but Bernie Sanders *"is not a communist. He's a socialist, a democratic socialist, which really is capitalism light,"* meaning a robust social safety net.[5][6] His conclusion about the advertisement's premise is unsparing: *"Mike Rogers is hoping people are stupid or reactionary."*[7]

## See also

- [Abdul El-Sayed](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/abdul-el-sayed)
- [Michigan 2026 Democratic Senate Primary](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/michigan-2026-democratic-senate-primary)
- [Americans and the word socialism](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/americans-and-the-word-socialism)

## Sources

1. Who is Really Behind the Migrant Crisis in Ceuta? | Ep. 7 (2026-08-04), at 46:18. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkZpg3HB50&t=2778s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-04-john-kiriakou-who-is-really-behind-the-migrant-crisis-in-ce/
2. Who is Really Behind the Migrant Crisis in Ceuta? | Ep. 7 (2026-08-04), at 46:50. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkZpg3HB50&t=2810s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-04-john-kiriakou-who-is-really-behind-the-migrant-crisis-in-ce/
3. Who is Really Behind the Migrant Crisis in Ceuta? | Ep. 7 (2026-08-04), at 40:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkZpg3HB50&t=2402s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-04-john-kiriakou-who-is-really-behind-the-migrant-crisis-in-ce/
4. Who is Really Behind the Migrant Crisis in Ceuta? | Ep. 7 (2026-08-04), at 47:26. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkZpg3HB50&t=2846s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-04-john-kiriakou-who-is-really-behind-the-migrant-crisis-in-ce/
5. Who is Really Behind the Migrant Crisis in Ceuta? | Ep. 7 (2026-08-04), at 48:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkZpg3HB50&t=2880s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-04-john-kiriakou-who-is-really-behind-the-migrant-crisis-in-ce/
6. Who is Really Behind the Migrant Crisis in Ceuta? | Ep. 7 (2026-08-04), at 48:31. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkZpg3HB50&t=2911s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-04-john-kiriakou-who-is-really-behind-the-migrant-crisis-in-ce/
7. Who is Really Behind the Migrant Crisis in Ceuta? | Ep. 7 (2026-08-04), at 49:35. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkZpg3HB50&t=2975s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-08-04-john-kiriakou-who-is-really-behind-the-migrant-crisis-in-ce/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/mike-rogers/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt