Abdul El-Sayed calls Michigan "the capital of Arab America"; critics say there is no Arab America, and the summit's host says the line was not meant literally
Three days after his election, Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed told an Arab American summit that Michigan is the capital of Arab America. Erika Kirk, Laura Loomer and Nancy Mace replied that there is no Arab America. Arab America said the line was not literal.
Case period:
Published by The Dispute Index editorial teamPublished Updated
Overview
El-Sayed, a Democrat, defeated Republican Mike Rogers on November 3, 2026, and became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. His campaign drew repeated attacks over his Muslim faith and Egyptian heritage, several of which are recorded in other cases on this site.
Snopes rated the quote a correct attribution. It noted that Michigan has the most concentrated Arab population in the country and that Arab Americans make up more than half of the population of Dearborn, outside Detroit.
We could not find a public response from El-Sayed to the criticism of the remark.
People in this case
Abdul El-SayedDirectly involved
Timeline
4 timeline entries on this page. Dates: November 3, 2026 to November 10, 2026
November 2026
El-Sayed wins Michigan's U.S. Senate race
Incident
El-Sayed defeats Republican Mike Rogers and becomes the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.
[01]Snopes
Snopes fact check rating the quote a correct attribution. It gives the full sentence, the date and setting of the speech, notes Erika Kirk's post sharing the clip, and points to C-SPAN's video.
Did Abdul El-Sayed call Michigan the 'capital of Arab America'? · SnopesFull fact checkEl-Sayed calls Michigan "the capital of Arab America" at a summit in Virginia
Incident
Speaking at the Arab America Foundation's CONNECT Empowerment Summit in Chantilly, Virginia, El-Sayed opens in Arabic, gives his full name and says that Washington is the capital of the United States, "but Michigan is the capital of Arab America." The audience cheers.
[02]C-SPAN
C-SPAN's video of Abdul El-Sayed's remarks at the Arab America Foundation's CONNECT Empowerment Summit in Chantilly, Virginia, on November 6, 2026, three days after he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
FULL REMARKS: Sen.-Elect Abdul El-Sayed on Arab American Leadership · C-SPANFull video of the remarks; the line about Michigan comes in the opening minute[01]Snopes
Snopes fact check rating the quote a correct attribution. It gives the full sentence, the date and setting of the speech, notes Erika Kirk's post sharing the clip, and points to C-SPAN's video.
Did Abdul El-Sayed call Michigan the 'capital of Arab America'? · SnopesFull fact check[03]Arab America
Article on Arab America's website about the reaction to El-Sayed's remarks at the summit it hosted. It is written in the organization's voice ('our summit', 'hosted by us').
Understanding the Reaction to El-Sayed's Summit Remarks · Arab AmericaFull articleFox News posts a clip of the remark on X
Incident
Fox News posts the clip on X that evening, U.S. time. Posts by Laura Loomer, Mark Levin, Erika Kirk and others quote it or share it over the next two days.
[04]Fox News
Fox News's post with a video clip of the remark, published the evening of the speech (Nov. 6 in U.S. time). Several of the posts recorded on this case quote it.
Fox News X post sharing the clip of El-Sayed's remark · Fox NewsX post of Nov. 7, 2026, 01:30 UTC, full text and video clip[01]Snopes
Snopes fact check rating the quote a correct attribution. It gives the full sentence, the date and setting of the speech, notes Erika Kirk's post sharing the clip, and points to C-SPAN's video.
Did Abdul El-Sayed call Michigan the 'capital of Arab America'? · SnopesFull fact checkSnopes rates the quote a correct attribution
Incident
Snopes confirms that El-Sayed said the line and that the clip is authentic, and points to C-SPAN's video of the full remarks.
[01]Snopes
Snopes fact check rating the quote a correct attribution. It gives the full sentence, the date and setting of the speech, notes Erika Kirk's post sharing the clip, and points to C-SPAN's video.
Did Abdul El-Sayed call Michigan the 'capital of Arab America'? · SnopesFull fact check
Response record
Responses
Choose one response filter, or select All responses to see the full record.
1 matching response. Newest first.
Arab AmericaHost of the CONNECT Empowerment Summit, in an article on its website by contributing writersDirectly involved Before this statement
The article quotes Erika Kirk's post and says many critics read the phrase as an attempt to separate Arab American identity from American national identity.
"These responses failed to pay attention to the setting in which El-Sayed made his remarks and immediately went to questions about whether celebrating his ethnic background and community was American enough."
Defended or excusedCase context: Abdul El-Sayed calls Michigan "the capital of Arab America"; critics say there is no Arab America, and the summit's host says the line was not meant literally
Full statement and sources
Arab America, which hosted the summit, says critics ignored the setting of the remark and questioned whether celebrating his heritage was American enough, and that calling Michigan the capital of Arab America was not meant literally.
After the statement
It goes on to say that Michigan has long been an important center of Arab American life, and that describing Michigan as the capital of Arab America was not meant in a literal sense but to establish the strong cultural presence of Arabs in the area.
Understanding the Reaction to El-Sayed's Summit Remarks · Arab AmericaFull articleWhy this label?
The summit's host defends the remark, saying critics ignored its setting and that it described the strong presence of Arab American communities in Michigan rather than a literal claim.
This label describes the statement's response within the context above.
Sources
(10)
Original video
FULL REMARKS: Sen.-Elect Abdul El-Sayed on Arab American Leadership
About this source
C-SPAN's video of Abdul El-Sayed's remarks at the Arab America Foundation's CONNECT Empowerment Summit in Chantilly, Virginia, on November 6, 2026, three days after he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
- Author
- C-SPAN
- Published
- Accessed
Original text
Understanding the Reaction to El-Sayed's Summit Remarks
Relevant passage: Full article
About this source
Article on Arab America's website about the reaction to El-Sayed's remarks at the summit it hosted. It is written in the organization's voice ('our summit', 'hosted by us').
- Author
- Megan Guzman, Abbott and Aziz, Arab America contributing writers
- Published
- Accessed
Original post
Libs of TikTok's X post saying there is no Arab America
About this source
Libs of TikTok's post sharing a clip of El-Sayed's remark.
- Author
- Libs of TikTok
- Published
- Accessed
Original post
Nancy Mace's X post quoting the clip of El-Sayed's remark
About this source
Post on Nancy Mace's personal X account quoting Fox News's clip of El-Sayed's remark.
- Author
- Nancy Mace
- Published
- Accessed
Original post
Nancy Mace's X post saying there is no Arab America
About this source
Post on Representative Nancy Mace's official X account.
- Author
- Nancy Mace
- Published
- Accessed
Original post
Laura Loomer's X post saying there is no such thing as Arab America
About this source
Laura Loomer's post quoting Fox News's clip of El-Sayed's remark.
- Author
- Laura Loomer
- Published
- Accessed
Original post
Mark Levin's X post calling El-Sayed a cocky little bastard with grand designs
About this source
Mark Levin's post quoting a post by Ryan Fournier, founder of Students for Trump, which said El-Sayed had just declared Michigan the capital of Arab America.
- Author
- Mark Levin
- Published
- Accessed
Original post
Erika Kirk's X post saying there is no Arab America
About this source
Erika Kirk's post quoting Fox News's clip of El-Sayed's remark.
- Author
- Erika Kirk
- Published
- Accessed
Original post
Fox News X post sharing the clip of El-Sayed's remark
About this source
Fox News's post with a video clip of the remark, published the evening of the speech (Nov. 6 in U.S. time). Several of the posts recorded on this case quote it.
- Author
- Fox News
- Published
- Accessed
Reporting
Did Abdul El-Sayed call Michigan the 'capital of Arab America'?
Relevant passage: Full fact check
About this source
Snopes fact check rating the quote a correct attribution. It gives the full sentence, the date and setting of the speech, notes Erika Kirk's post sharing the clip, and points to C-SPAN's video.
- Author
- Taija PerryCook
- Published
- Accessed
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Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Abdul El-Sayed calls Michigan "the capital of Arab America"; critics say there is no Arab America, and the summit's host says the line was not meant literally
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/cases/abdul-el-sayed-capital-of-arab-america-remark
The Dispute Index. "Abdul El-Sayed calls Michigan "the capital of Arab America"; critics say there is no Arab America, and the summit's host says the line was not meant literally". First published: 2026-11-14. Last updated: 2026-11-14. https://disputeindex.com/cases/abdul-el-sayed-capital-of-arab-america-remark