El-Sayed responds to Trump: ‘The man can’t stay on focus’
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee in Michigan's Senate race, hit back at President Trump after the president criticized the progressive's victory in the state's Democratic primary this week.
Trump called El-Sayed a "man of hate" and claimed that he "hates Jews and he hates Israel" at a Las Vegas speech touting his administration's "no tax on tips" policy.
El-Sayed told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday evening that "the man can't stay on focus," referring to the president and his diversion from his economic address.
"That's like the one thing he did to offer any economic relief, but instead of that he's more focused on me and what I'm going to do while we're living through an affordability crisis that is generational," the Senate hopeful said.
He also invited the president to "focus on what I'm saying."
"I want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket and pass 'Medicare for All,'" the candidate added.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) by a slim margin in Michigan's Senate Democratic primary on Tuesday and will face off against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) in November.
The Democratic candidate urged unity among Democratic voters in the state behind his campaign, acknowledging that he and Stevens "had a hard-fought battle" leading up to Tuesday's primary.
"There were some disagreements between folks who might have voted for me, or folks who might have voted with the congresswoman, but I also know that the things that unite us are so much bigger than whatever it is that divides us," El-Sayed said. "We have an opportunity right now to come together, to embrace the idea that we can have an America that is affordable, because Michiganders right now are suffering."
The progressive added that he "should hope" that Stevens would join him on the campaign trail ahead of the midterms this fall. The lawmaker said she would support his campaign after she conceded this week.
"I'm hoping that congresswoman Stevens and [Michigan state] Sen. [Mallory] McMorrow, who was with me earlier today, will be out there on the trail talking about what we need to do to build a future where we get money out of politics, put money in pockets and pass Medicare for All," El-Sayed said.
He also slammed his GOP opponent, saying Rogers is "running away from Donald Trump himself."
"When you've asked Mike Rogers about his position on the war or his position on Trump's tariffs, he is mum," the Democrat continued. "So look, I'm looking forward to tying Mike Rogers to Donald Trump all day, every day."
If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim senator in U.S. history. The candidate told Collins that while he is "not running to be the first Muslim anything," he thinks his election would "mean something … about the country."
"There are people like [Vice President] JD Vance or Donald Trump or Mike Rogers who want to define America as being too small to include some kinds of people, and they point to my name, they point to my faith, they try to insinuate that somehow I'm less American because of those things. … They want America to be small. I believe America is big," El-Sayed continued.
"It's open-minded. It's big-hearted," he said. "It can include any of us, regardless of how we pray, regardless of where our families come from, regardless of who we love or how we identify. That's the America we're building."
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