DI has documented statements by Abdul El-Sayed on 2026 Midterm Elections, Antisemitism, and Artificial Intelligence, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan
Defended or excused
Response to this claim
The Temple Israel attack should be understood in part through the cycle of violence created by the regional war and the Israeli airstrike that killed members of the assailant's family.
Asked whether he regrets the language, he reasserts it, defends discussing everybody's pain, and calls refusal to do so unserious. The response substantively defends his framing.
In the original interview El-Sayed does more than deny an excuse: he argues understanding causes is necessary for serious prevention and defends his decision to provide that context.
Role at the time: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan, interviewed on Fox & Friends
Challenged the characterization
Response to this claim
Appearing at a political event with Hasan Piker does not establish agreement with all of Piker’s statements.
“Of course I don’t think 9/11 was justified.”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)El-Sayed rejects justifying 9/11 while defending campaigning with Hasan PikerOpening interview quotations about 9/11 and appearing with someone without agreeing; embedded video 6392681742112
Why we used this label
He combined rejection of the underlying sentiment with a defense of the campaign appearance; neither unconditional endorsement nor complete disavowal describes both parts.
Role at the time: Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, at a campaign press conference
Defended or excused
Response to this claim
The Temple Israel attack should be understood in part through the cycle of violence created by the regional war and the Israeli airstrike that killed members of the assailant's family.
“I also think it’s just critical for us to understand that hurt people do hurt people, and the circumstances happening 6,000 miles away can affect the lives that we live here, and if we stand against violence, we’ve got to stand against violence, all violence.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Abdul El-Sayed, on Temple Israel terrorist: 'Hurt people do hurt people'Second paragraph, quoting El-Sayed at a press conference with Hasan Piker
Why we used this label
The reference point is El-Sayed's cycle-of-violence framing of the Temple Israel attack. Here he restates the framing and says it is critical to understand, which defends it. We used Defended or excused, consistent with his June and August restatements. Challenged the characterization loses because he does not just dispute that the framing justified the attack; he argues for keeping it. The quote is from Jewish Insider's report.
Role at the time: Candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, Michigan
Condemned
Statement summary
El-Sayed denounced the war in Iran at a Michigan State University campaign event, said there is no legal authorization for President Trump to continue the conflict, and promised to vote against any funding authorization to continue the war if elected to the Senate.
“I will not sit idly by while our tax dollars go to fund a genocide on behalf of a foreign government.”
Role at the time: U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan
Defended or excused
Response to this claim
The Temple Israel attack should be understood in part through the cycle of violence created by the regional war and the Israeli airstrike that killed members of the assailant's family.
On the recorded campaign call he positively justifies publishing his explanation as principled leadership. This is substantive defense of his decision, not merely disputing a label.
Role at the time: Host of America Dissected and former Detroit health director
Challenged the characterization
Statement summary
In a 2021 America Dissected podcast, Abdul El-Sayed described the September 11 attackers as driven by hate and said they attacked his country. He also discussed the harms of post-9/11 U.S. actions. The remarks predate Mike Rogers’s 2026 campaign accusation and do not name Rogers.
“The people who carried it out were a group of people driven by hate who attacked my country.”
The recorded statement directly conflicts with the characterization that El-Sayed endorsed the September 11 attacks, while its broader discussion also criticizes the U.S. response after the attacks. It is classified only as a challenge to that characterization, not as a 2026 response.
Abdul El-Sayed supports federal privacy guardrails for Flock cameras. Mike Rogers says states can act and opposes tracking people who have committed no crimes. The dispute concerns who should set the rules.
Abdul El-Sayed declined to rank Israel and Iran as threats during Michigan's Senate debate, describing different dangers from each. Pete Buttigieg answered that Iran is an enemy and Israel an ally, while saying he would still vote for El-Sayed.
Rogers says prices are too high and the tariff fight with Canada should end. El-Sayed says Rogers backed the tariffs from the beginning. Trump reads the ad as a call for Canada to make a deal.
Abdul El-Sayed says families could retain private insurance under his Medicare for All proposal. Mike Rogers describes it as a government takeover. The campaign allows additional private coverage but expects universal public insurance to make it unnecessary.
A College Republicans group chat message says America Next offered members $200 each to disrupt Abdul El-Sayed's Flint town hall. The group says it did not coordinate, America Next did not respond, and as of October 4, 2026, no report shows anyone was paid.
Hasan Piker told Axios the US has caused more terrorism than al-Qaeda "pound for pound." The full episode added more contested claims -- on Iran's nuclear programme, Mao Zedong, China and Zionism -- and drew condemnation from both parties.
Cornell says its investigation led to expulsions and suspensions. Critics say its response to the Chi Phi allegations was inadequate and opaque. The civil complaint mentions essays as a way to mitigate conduct, not as the only sanction.
The Front Line Action's AI-generated ad opposing Abdul El-Sayed drew criticism from a political scientist who says its terrorism-related framing evokes anti-Muslim stereotypes. The sponsor's leader asked which imagery was Islamophobic.
Mike Rogers accused Abdul El-Sayed of funding his Senate campaign with terrorist-group money. The case examines the allegation, FEC records documenting outside-support transfers, related public responses, and whether any record establishes a direct payment from a designated organization.
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Trump backs company controls and outside audits for frontier AI. Critics want enforceable federal safeguards, and the White House now calls incident reporting mandatory without identifying enforcement mechanisms or penalties.
Read twelve distinct appeals by Mike Rogers and his campaign for Abdul El-Sayed to disavow Hasan Piker, documented as of September 21, 2026. The timeline counts dated requests and excludes repeated coverage.
