Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Monday defended a disparaging remark he made about Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) in the final debate before next week’s primary.
El-Sayed, who has sharply criticized Israel throughout his primary race against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich), was asked during the debate about comments he made during a Zoom meeting where he referred to Fetterman – an outspoken supporter of the Jewish state – as an “ogre” that he would like to see put “on a pike.”
“So many people took offense to that,” moderator Roop Raj, of Fox 2 News in Detroit, pointed out, “and it really pointed to the bigger question about the tone and tenor that you’ve been accused of having in this campaign.”
“Do you regret any of the comments that you’ve made?” Raj asked, giving El-Sayed a chance to apologize for the barb.
The former public health official responded by doubling down on his criticism of the Pennsylvania Democrat.
“I was referring to a guy named John Fetterman, who’s a senator from Pennsylvania who has done terrible things,” El-Sayed said.
“He got elected on a set of values and is now completely throwing those values in the mud,” the Senate hopeful continued.
“And I do think it’s important for any senator in Michigan to have a relationship with folks who are in the US Senate, and if those folks are not actually acting in accordance with what they got elected on, I think it’s important for all of us to have an honest opinion about what we’re going to do to make sure that our Senate looks like the people it represents.”
During the Zoom call with Democratic donors, audio of which was obtained by Politico, El-Sayed argued that Fetterman should face a primary challenge in 2028 and, if successful, it would serve as a warning to Democrats who don’t tow the party line.
“Primarying people like John Fetterman, I have no problem to do that,” he said on the call. “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different.”
Fetterman, who is 6 feet 8 inches tall and has often been mocked over his physical appearance, responded by telling the outlet: “I pick being Senator Shrek over being the Pontiac Platner any day.”
Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary election will be held on August 4.
