Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed has the temperament of a man who believes answering uncomfortable questions is beneath him. Yet he expects Michigan voters to reward him with six years in the United States Senate.
Press him about Israel, Iran, or the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Democratic nominee’s patience seems to evaporate faster than his willingness to provide a straight answer. His latest declaration that Israel isn’t America’s friend puts his hostility toward the Jewish state on full display.
Michigan deserves a senator with sound judgment and a steady hand, not a thin-skinned politician who treats legitimate scrutiny as a personal insult.
During an October 19 interview, El-Sayed declared that Israel is “not actually our friend.” He argued that an ally taking American money while pushing Washington into wars doesn’t deserve the title. This came after his interviewer asked whether he considered Israel an American ally. Apparently, decades of diplomatic, military, and intelligence cooperation can be dismissed with a lecture about bad friendships.
📍 Michigan ⭕️ Democratic Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed: “Israel Is Not Actually Our Friend” In an interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis, El-Sayed rejected Israel’s status as an American ally, accusing it of drawing Washington into costly wars. “An ally that takes your money to push you into wars you shouldn’t be fighting is not an ally.” He called for a fundamental reassessment of U.S.-Israel relations, criticizing American military assistance and support for Israel. The full interview airs tonight at 8 PM ET on ABC News Live Prime. https://t.co/ayO8cWKCHM
— DEFENDERS OF ISRAEL (@Israeli_Sniper) October 20, 2026
He offered another revealing performance during the October 8 debate against Republican Mike Rogers. Asked whether Israel or Iran posed the greater danger to the United States, El-Sayed called the question a “ridiculous hypothetical.”
The moderator asked again.
El-Sayed answered that both had proved dangerous in different ways. Iran’s regime could threaten America directly, yet El-Sayed seemed determined to make Israel share the blame.
The debate also exposed his reluctance to answer whether he’d support defensive weapons if Iran attacked Israel. Instead of giving voters a clear yes or no, he returned to spending money on Michigan schools and healthcare.
Those are campaign promises, not an answer about protecting civilians from incoming missiles, and a potential senator ought to understand the difference.
From RealClearPolitics:
MODERATOR: Dr. El-Sayed, you have opposed direct U.S. military funding to Israel, but if Israel were attacked tomorrow by Iran or another state actor, would you vote to provide defensive weapons necessary to protect the Israeli people? Yes or no, and you have 60 seconds to explain.
ABDUL EL-SAYED: I've been absolutely clear. I want our tax dollars spent here to provide schools here, and by here I mean Michigan, not Florida.
I want to make sure we've got good schools here and health care here. I want to make sure that we are taking care of people here. That is my priority.
You asked a hypothetical question about being attacked by Iran, but let's be honest about what happened here. Israel has pushed us to go to war in Iran, and of course my colleague, who thinks there's a war for everything, went right along with it. And here we are.
Israel had clear war aims. They wanted us to go to war with them, and their war aims were what? The annexation of southern Lebanon?
Ask yourself, are we safer because of that war?
He wants unconditional support for a foreign government. I want unconditional support for kids in our schools, unconditional support for our health care, child care, things that he would vote to defund.
So it's just inconsistent to me to be running for Senate from Michigan when you're more focused on what's happening to a foreign government than you are focused on what's happening to folks right here in Michigan. It's just not serious.
At a campaign event, a questioner challenged him to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed answered, “Sure, yeah, absolutely,” then confronted the man over the question’s implications. His disavowal was clear. His instinct to turn a hostile question into an extended confrontation also showed. Michigan isn’t electing someone to win a shouting match. It’s choosing a senator expected to handle far more hostile conversations overseas.
Extremist Abdul El-Sayed again refused to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization that his family is linked to: Voter: “Abdul, will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood?” Abdul El-Sayed: “I haven’t seen you disavow them.” https://t.co/OrDc5d2HTY
— Steve Cortes (@SteveCortes) October 18, 2026
To my eyes, his repeated hostility toward the Jewish state crosses from policy criticism into ugly prejudice. He talks about Israel as a source of danger to America while resisting a straightforward comparison with Iran. Jewish Michiganders watching these exchanges have every right to wonder whether their concerns will receive anything beyond another irritated speech.
Now consider the polling. The current Michigan Senate average puts El-Sayed at 48.1% and Rogers at 45.5%, a 2.6-point lead. A late-September survey gave El-Sayed a seven-point advantage; more recent surveys place the candidates only one or two points apart. President Donald Trump carried Michigan in 2024; Democrats can’t assume voters will simply fall into line.
Republicans have learned what happens when analysts treat a polling lead as an election result. In 2024, the Texas polling average showed Ted Cruz ahead by 4.4 points; he won by 8.5. In Maine four years earlier, a late survey showed Susan Collins down by six points; she won by 8.6.
Those weren’t minor forecasting hiccups.
Then came Iowa in 2024. The much-discussed final Selzer survey showed Kamala Harris beating Trump by three points. Trump instead won the state by roughly 13. Pollsters and political commentators can call the result a Republican overperformance. Voters might reasonably call it a polling failure, especially when the eventual winner was placed on the losing side.
None of those results give Rogers a guaranteed victory in two weeks. They show why a two-point Democratic advantage shouldn’t be mistaken for a coronation. The voters who actually turn up count, not the voters a statistical model expected to appear.
Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed’s problem is bigger than the polling margin. He wants Michigan to trust his judgment while treating questions about allies, adversaries, and security as nuisances. Rogers has an opening to keep asking those questions, calmly and repeatedly.
Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed can keep getting irritated, while the voters get the final word.
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