Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is defending controversial remarks about Arabs, arguing that his comments were directed at Islamism rather than Arabs or Muslims as a whole.

In a roughly 3,700-word post on X, Kennedy accused news organizations of omitting what he described as important context from his remarks at a Michigan campaign event supporting Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.

“My speech was not a critique of Arabs or Islam, but of Islamism (also known as ‘Islamofascism’ or ‘Political Islam’), a toxic ideology conceived and promoted by the terrorist group, the Muslim Brotherhood,” Kennedy wrote.

He also challenged journalists to revisit their coverage.

“Let’s see which reporters take the time to read this post and then correct their stories,” he wrote. 

Kennedy faced backlash after saying on Monday that Arabs do not produce science, win Nobel Prizes or contribute literature. In response, critics mentioned achievements of Arab scientists, writers and Nobel laureates.

In his post, Kennedy maintained that his criticism was directed at political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood, rather than Arabs or Muslims broadly. He renewed his criticism of Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, questioning his position on the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed has denied having ties to the organization.