Lefty Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed — who has authored research papers advising Arab women not to breed outside their ethnic group – has “admirably” handled alleged racism that’s come his way, Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed this week.
The socialist mayor praised the way El-Sayed is “navigating” his high-profile Senate contest against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), although within hours of the interview El-Sayed was openly feuding with his primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the final stretch of the campaign.
“A race of that magnitude is difficult enough as it is; to have to contend with blatantly racist attacks on a regular basis, and the silence of so many around him in the face of that — that is immensely difficult,” Mamdani told WNYC in an interview Thursday. “And I have had to experience a version of it in our own mayoral race.”
“And I can tell you that you lean on those around you as much as you can. And you struggle every day to ensure that the race is on the terms that you wanted it to be on. And yet, when we are speaking about millions of dollars being spent trafficking in that same racism, it becomes incredibly difficult to both respond to it and continue to move forward. And it’s a challenge that I think he’s rising to admirably,” said Mamdani.
President Trump and Rogers have centered their attacks on El-Sayed’s apparent family tie to the Muslim Brotherhood, not race. Trump has branded him a “jihadist” and Vice President Vance called him a “psycopath.”
While at Columbia Medical School, El-Sayed — who has repeatedly called himself a physician though he never completed his medical school residency — authored a paper that concluded Arab women should only breed with their own kind for optimal health outcomes.
El-Sayed warned in the 2011 paper published in the “Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health” of the hazards of “interethnic mating” — which he insisted increased the risk of children being born premature.
The paper was one of several he authored that were hyper-focused on race and religion.
“This is ‘science’ with “a pre-ordained racist & eugenics outcome,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) wrote on X about El-Sayed’s research. “Scary stuff.”
The mayor was also asked about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) elevating El-Sayed, who campaigns on Medicare for All and wants to block US aid to Israel. Both Mamdani and El-Sayed have ties to infamous Israel-hating socialist Linda Sarsour.
AOC said a Democratic victory in Michigan would prove “anyone can win anywhere.” But he wouldn’t bite when asked directly whether he wants to see AOC herself run for president.
The New York “Squad” member is touting her nationwide fundraising prowess in a new cash appeal Saturday and could gather steam from socialist wins.
“I want to see AOC do whatever it is that AOC wants to do,” Mamdani said.
