Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, pushed back Sunday on questions by CNN host Jake Tapper in a contentious interview about Iran and Israel.
Mr. Tapper first asked Mr. El-Sayed to respond to comments by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to The New York Times. The New York mayor said that Democrats who take donations from the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee “should be part of the Democratic Party.”
Mr. Tapper suggested that Mr. El-Sayed would disagree with that statement, citing the candidate’s past remarks in which he expressed concern about AIPAC’s influence.
“So it sounds as though, and correct me if I’m wrong, it sounds as though you and Mayor Mamdani disagree about how big this tent should be, whether there’s room for it in the tent for Israel supporters,” Mr. Tapper said.
Mr. El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health official in Detroit, responded by saying “there’s always room in the tent for folks” in the Democratic Party, but quickly became frustrated with the line of questioning.
“Every time I come on CNN, you guys ask me the same questions about these theoretical rights of existence or whether or not I agree with the mayor of New York,” he said. “I’m running for Senate in Michigan and, in Michigan, people can’t afford their basic needs. They don’t get the healthcare they need and deserve. They’re worried about the quality of their kids’ school. And the questions seem less to be about the interests of Michiganders than the fact of something happening 6,000 miles away.”
Mr. El-Sayed then returned to Mr. Mamdani’s comments, simply saying that he thinks “my tax dollars should be spent here.”
Later, Mr. Tapper pressed the Senate candidate about the deaths of two U.S. service members who were killed in Jordan following the attack on an air base. Another U.S. service member is missing. He followed that by referencing Mr. El-Sayed’s remarks after U.S. strikes killed former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in which he reportedly said a lot of people in Michigan were “sad” over Khamenei’s death and he didn’t want to comment on it.
“I thought that quote was interesting because the ayatollah has killed tens of thousands of innocent Iranians, not to mention the proxies that Iran has funded that have killed innocent civilians all over the Middle East,” Mr. Tapper said. “Why were you worried about offending people who support the ayatollah?”
Mr. El-Sayed became frustrated with the question.
“Jake, on a day where we’re mourning the loss of two more service members in a war we never should have fought, I think all of us ought to step back and ask whether or not everybody in Michigan, frankly, everybody in America shouldn’t be sad about the fact that this president, backed by the prime minister of a foreign government, took us to a war we had no business fighting in,” he said.
Mr. El-Sayed added that it was a “ridiculous pretext” to comment on Khamenei’s death at the time.
“And now you’re asking me about the ayatollah, who’s dead, by the way, and you’re not asking me about the service members who’ve died,” he continued. “You’re not asking me about whether or not this war should have ever been fought. You’re not asking me about whether or not the costs that are being borne by Michiganders in the tax dollars we pay or the gas prices that are insane right now are worth it.”
Mr. El-Sayed then pleaded with the CNN host to talk about the Michigan Senate race, saying he wants U.S. tax dollars spent in Michigan. ”
“I was specifically asking you about comments you didn’t want to make because you didn’t want to offend people in Dearborn, which is in Michigan,” Mr. Tapper responded before changing topics.
Mr. El-Sayed, a progressive, is running against moderate Haley Stevens for Sen. Gary Peters’s seat in Michigan. The primary is scheduled for August 9.
