A Michigan Democrat running for U.S. Senate is facing intensifying backlash after leaked audio revealed him explaining why he should avoid commenting on the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—citing concern for constituents in Dearborn who he said are “sad.”
Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed was recorded during a staff meeting strategizing how to respond to news that Khamenei was killed in a joint U.S.-Israel military strike targeting Iranian leadership amid escalating regional tensions. While supporters of the operation view it as a major blow to Iran’s regime and its proxy networks, critics warn it risks triggering wider conflict across the Middle East.
In the recording, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, El-Sayed outlined a plan to deflect questions from reporters.
“I’m just gonna go straight to pedophilia, frankly,” he said. “I’ll just be like, ‘Pedophile president decides that he doesn’t like the front page news, so he decides to take us into another war.'”
He also pointed to political sensitivities at home.
“I also want to remind you guys that there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today. So, like, I just don’t want to comment on Khamenei at all. Like, I don’t think it’s worth even touching that.”
Dearborn is home to one of the largest Arab American and Muslim populations in the country, making Middle East policy a particularly charged issue in Michigan politics.
The remarks triggered immediate blowback from Republicans and conservative commentators, who argued the comments showed poor judgment and misplaced priorities.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers said, “Abdul continues to expose how extreme the Democrat party has become.”
“Rather than empathize with the 140 kids whose lives were threatened in the Michigan synagogue attack, the thousands of Americans murdered by Iran, or the victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism around the world, he instead, chooses to empathize with the terrorists who committed these vile acts,” Rogers said. “And now, to campaign with a known antisemite who claimed ‘America deserved 9/11.’ Each time you think the Democrats can’t get lower, they pick up the shovel and keep digging.”
Conservative reactions quickly spread online.
“Speaks volumes about the level of extremism within the El-Sayed coalition here,” Fox News radio political analyst Josh Kraushaar posted on X.
“Democrats have an abundance of riches to choose from when selecting which one of their Senate candidates is the craziest, most radical, and most anti-American,” GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno posted on X.
“Beyond parody,” conservative communicator Steve Guest posted on X.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not dispute the recording but criticized how it was obtained.
“The recording was obtained without the campaign’s permission and without knowledge that individuals were being recorded,” campaign lawyers at the Sandler Reiff law firm said. “The campaign is considering its legal options against the individual in question.”
The controversy adds to recent scrutiny over El-Sayed’s decision to collaborate with Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who once said “America deserved 9/11.”
The Democratic primary, set for August 4, pits El-Sayed against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens in a race to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters. With the Cook Political Report rating the seat a “toss up,” the fallout from the leaked audio could reshape both the primary and the general election.
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Can they possibly get any sicker? And also, which president liked to have little kids rub his hairy legs?
Why are such anti-American people allowed to still remain in this country, much less run for a political office here?
If they don’t like it here, THEY SHOULD JUST LEAVE!
Does anyone remember the WW II expression ‘5th columnist’?