Sen. Bernie Sanders strongly condemned Republican attacks targeting Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race, characterizing the GOP’s rhetoric centered on El-Sayed’s ethnicity and religion as outright racism.
Speaking on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Sanders directly criticized remarks made by Republican surrogates, including President Trump, Texas Sen. According to that level of racism, overt absolute racism, is frankly disgusting and should appall every decent American,” Sanders, On “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.
Ted Cruz, and JD Vance.
GOP figures have labeled El-Sayed—a medical doctor who would become the first Muslim U.S. senator—a terrorist and a jihadist while linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood and suggesting his election could endanger Americans. El-Sayed has repeatedly denied any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization with specific chapters designated earlier this year by the Trump administration as terrorist entities, and rejected the allegations. And implied that electing him could even be deadly to Americans, republicans have called El-Sayed a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Sanders described the political messaging and campaign advertisements as disgraceful, expressing confidence that Michigan voters will reject the rhetoric and deliver a strong election night performance for El-Sayed over Republican opponent Mike Rogers, whom Sanders warned would act as a rubber stamp for the Trump administration. And I think what you’re going to see is a good victory in Michigan for him,” Sanders said. “People will rebel against that type of ugliness, the fact of the matter is that Abdul is running an extraordinary campaign. So the people in Michigan understand, ‘Sure, we have disagreements with Abdul on this and that issue,'” he said. “But from what I can see, all over the state, people are standing up. I can understand being upset about that. But he stressed that during a midterm cycle of paramount importance, Michiganders will see the bigger picture.
The controversy coincides with internal Democratic friction following the primary. Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost a close primary contest to El-Sayed three months earlier, recently demanded he denounce an outside group’s ad connecting U.S. military assistance for Israel to higher domestic grocery prices, an advertisement she labeled antisemitic. El-Sayed responded by pointing out that he neither produced nor agreed with the ad’s content, accusing Stevens of reopening settled primary disputes. El-Sayed accused her of “relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.
Shortly after Sanders’ interview, Stevens publicly backed Rogers, asserting that she could not support El-Sayed’s candidacy because it did not align with Michigan’s values. Addressing the political split on Sunday without naming Stevens directly, El-Sayed remarked that he remains focused on serving the state’s 10 million residents rather than dwelling on individual political figures. I’m a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones who are talking about.
Addressing the broader debate around Israel and antisemitism, Sanders cited his personal background as a Jewish American whose father’s family was killed in the Holocaust. While emphasizing that antisemitism is a lethal ideology that must never be tolerated, Sanders maintained that criticism of Israel’s current administration is a legitimate political stance rather than anti-Jewish bias. Anti-Semitism is an extraordinarily disgusting and dangerous ideology that has killed millions and millions of lives in the last century.
Sanders argued that opposing the policies of a right-wing government in Israel and objecting to U.S. taxpayer funding for it is distinct from attacking the Jewish faith, noting that political criticism of a government does not reflect hostility toward the religion of its people. He reiterated that the ad “was not made by me,” adding that he disagrees with its contents, and on Saturday.
Coverage Overview and Related Race Developments
- 60 Minutes Transcript: Candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers
- Shapiro: Officials must “lead by example” amid heated rhetoric
- El-Sayed asks fellow Democrat Stevens not to attend final campaign events
