Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed spent most of his primary debate against Rep. Haley Stevens railing against Israel. He blamed the Jewish state for problems ranging from U.S. artificial intelligence policy to the national debt to the state of the Democratic Party under Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
Asked whether “we need to regulate AI,” El-Sayed claimed he was “being outspent 30-to-1 in this race” and “that money is coming in from the [American Israel Public Affairs Committee].”
“That money is coming in from AIPAC. Their goal is to make sure that our money is sent abroad to kill other people rather than kept here to invest here,” said El-Sayed. “Now, the question you might be asking is, what does it have to do with a question about AI? Government will continue to work for the people who buy off government, so long as we allow people to buy off government. It is that simple.”
In response to another question about the national debt, El-Sayed said the United States needs to “end stupid wars we shouldn’t be fighting at the behest of foreign governments.”
And he repeatedly blamed Israel for luring the United States into war in Iran. “I think it’s worth asking why we got into this war in the first place. There is one man who’s been wanting this war fought, and that is the prime minister of Israel,” he said. “Why is it that we are paying $5 gas? Why is it that we can’t seem to get out of this quagmire? It’s because for too long our foreign policy has been handed to us by the likes of the State of Israel and AIPAC, who has made sure that Democrats and Republicans are doing their bidding,” he added.
The debate was the first one-on-one faceoff between El-Sayed and Stevens since Democratic state senator Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race earlier this week. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 4, and the winner will take on Republican Mike Rogers in the general election this fall. El-Sayed leads Stevens by 20 points, according to a poll conducted by a super PAC supporting him.
The debate highlighted El-Sayed’s efforts to center the race on Israeli and U.S. foreign policy. He has spent much of the campaign thus far slamming AIPAC and accusing the organization of buying off politicians. He has also made campaign appearances with the antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker and joined the Holocaust-denying Shiite cleric Fadhel Al-Sahlani on stage last month to celebrate the opening of a new mosque, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Despite his vocal denunciations of Israel, El-Sayed has avoided criticism of the Iranian regime. He privately told staffers he wouldn’t make a public statement about the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei because “there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad” about his death, according to audio of a campaign meeting obtained by the Free Beacon.
During Tuesday evening’s debate, El-Sayed was asked whether he believes the Democratic Party is “shifting” too far to the left. “If you want your politics dictated to you by AIPAC or Chuck Schumer, then I’m not your guy. I think we need to go back to the idea of government of the people, by the people,” he said. “That’s money that buys something on the back end, so if you elect the person who took that money, don’t be surprised when they betray you.”
Stevens responded by noting that she was recently criticized by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. El-Sayed claimed it was part of a ploy by the Israeli government to secretly boost Stevens’s candidacy.
“I don’t think Benjamin Netanyahu is attacking [my opponent] to actually attack her. I think he’s attacking her to try and steer away the stink of how staunchly she stands for their policy,” said El-Sayed.
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