A Michigan Democratic Senate candidate is under scrutiny after advising his campaign to avoid commenting on the Israeli airstrike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, citing the reaction among some voters in Dearborn, according to audio from a private strategy call.
The remarks from Abdul El-Sayed came during a March 1 conference call with communications staff, one day after the Feb. 28 strike that killed Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989 and faced longstanding criticism for suppressing dissent and backing militant groups linked to attacks on Americans.
In the recording, El-Sayed told his team: “I also want to remind you guys that there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today. So, like, I just don’t want to comment on Khamenei at all. Like, I don’t think it’s worth even touching that.”
Dearborn, which has one of the largest Arab-American and Muslim populations in the United States, has become a political flashpoint. Though historically Democratic, the city gave a plurality of its votes to President Donald Trump in 2024.
El-Sayed also outlined how he planned to respond if pressed by reporters. “I’m just gonna go straight to pedophilia, frankly,” he said, indicating he would pivot to Trump’s past associations with Jeffrey Epstein. He added that he would respond along the lines of: “Pedophile president decides that he doesn’t like the front page news, so he decides to take us into another war.”
He characterized the approach as maintaining the “moral high ground,” while cautioning staff against engaging on whether the strike was justified.
The candidate, viewed as one of the more progressive contenders in the primary, also discussed shifting focus toward criticism of Israel and U.S. pro-Israel advocacy groups. He argued the strike benefited Israel and claimed it had “captured too many of our politicians through AIPAC contributions.”
Some advisers expressed concern about the tone. El-Sayed rejected those concerns, saying he intended to “take the whole shot” by linking certain lawmakers to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Israeli interests, while questioning why Congress had not asserted authority over what he described as an “illegal and unjustified war.”
The audio was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. In response, El-Sayed’s campaign, through attorneys at the Sandler Reiff law firm, said the recording was made without permission and indicated it is weighing legal options, urging that context be considered in any reporting.
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Yikes – a raging anti-Semite who also hates America just demonstrates how far down the toilet the former ‘party of the people’ (democRATs) has gone. Add in his blatant TDS and you end up with a trifecta – and that political party touts him as a viable candidate. SMDH.