Democrat Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed appears determined to test just how much political damage a single campaign can absorb.
According to RedState, El-Sayed, who has previously derided football as linked to toxic masculinity, is now under fire for a fresh remark that many Michigandersespecially fans of the states flagship programare unlikely to forgive. While meeting with Michigan farmers, he urged them to reach out to people on the other side of the aisle, even suggesting they avoid politics altogether and instead talk about the weather or, as he put it, Will (the University of) Michigan ever win a football game without cheating, a line he delivered with a chuckle in the midst of a couple awkward laughs.
The attempt at humor landed with a thud online, where voters and fans alike bristled at a Senate hopeful mocking Michigan football, a near-religion in the state. Yikes. Abdul El-Sayed on Michigan football: Is Michigan ever going to win a game without cheating? I say this as a Wolverine, one widely shared post read, capturing the backlash.
The comment quickly drew the ire of Michigan fan and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who blasted El-Sayed as a terrorist in what was clearly a football-context insult, not a legal accusation. Mike Rogers, El-Sayeds Republican opponent, immediately backed Portnoys sentiment, posting, .@StoolPresidente is exactly right. Genuine question what is this dudes problem.
Rogers then delivered a pointed political punchline that resonated with conservatives already skeptical of Democrat ethics, adding, If anyone would know about cheating, it would be a Democrat... For a state where college football pride runs deep, El-Sayeds jab at the Wolverines looks less like edgy banter and more like a self-inflicted wound.
This latest misstep joins a growing list of controversial statements that have dogged El-Sayeds campaign and reinforced doubts about his judgment and values. He got his head handed to him in the debate this past week by Rogers, whose performance contrasted sharply with El-Sayeds aggrieved demeanor as the Republican repeatedly skewered his positions.
Most troubling to many voters, El-Sayed refused to say who was the bigger threat to the U.S.: Iran or Israel, even as we are fighting Iran, a stance that raises serious questions about his grasp of national security and Americas allies. For a state and a nation seeking steady, pro-American leadership in the Senate, that refusal alone, as RedState noted, should be disqualifying for a position in the U.S. Senate.
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