El-Sayed Apologizes for Troubling Past Remark

Something tells me the internals for Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed must be dangerous. They must show he is in hassle. 

Because abruptly we’re seeing motion from him, appearing to clean up points he created for himself by his own actions/statements. 

On Thursday, he said that he has no plans to marketing campaign with Hasan Piker. That seems to be an attempt to put distance between himself and the extremist Twitch streamer.

Then, on Saturday, El-Sayed spoke to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at a social gathering conference in Lansing, attempting to restore his fame.

He deflected again on Piker when pressed by reporters. Again, he reportedly didn’t explicitly disavow him. 

Asked about Hasan Piker a little bit in the past, Abdul El-Sayed stopped the reported asking the query:

“If you want to make this race about a streamer in California, I just think you’re missing the boat. This is about affordability in Michigan.”

— Craig Mauger (@CraigDMauger) August 29, 2026

However, El-Sayed did apologize for a assertion he made in March about an assault on a synagogue close to Detroit. At that time, he said “hurt people hurt people,” expressing an opinion about the attacker in what authorities said was a focused assault against Jews. 

“I made a mistake,” El-Sayed said to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus crowd Saturday. “I should have issued a statement, of course condemning it, and it just should have been the full stop.”

He argued he was attempting to present “broader context” but trampled “the dignity that that fear and that pain should have been afforded.” “If my statement caused pain, I’m sorry,” he said.  “That was not what I supposed.”

He said his feedback have been inappropriate in the quick aftermath. 

No, they have been inappropriate, period. 

Punchbowl News reported at the time that El-Sayed then truly defended his remarks, “Leadership is being willing to say the thing if you believe it to be true that nobody else is going to say.” 

At this level, 5 months later, the apology rings hole and a lot just like the politics of attempting to save himself. Now that he is in the final election race for the Senate, he is attempting to run from the issues he said during the first race. People on X usually weren’t shopping for it, although there did seem to be a few people who fell for it. 

This man has more tales than Mother Goose https://t.co/Q4QsBCMDQ1

— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) August 29, 2026

We are supposed to imagine he’s coasting to election when he has to do this https://t.co/lO8J5CXW5m

— CTIronman (@CTIronman) August 29, 2026

He’s mendacity. He is only saying this to get votes. https://t.co/hFPUGuiNI2

— Democrats For Mike Rogers (@DemsForMike) August 29, 2026

His Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, blasted him, saying he was attempting to “con Michiganders into thinking his beliefs have changed.  Let me be clear: they have not.” He said El-Sayed “had six months to apologize for his incredibly horrific remarks regarding the Temple Israel attack.” He termed it “too little, too late.” 

We’ll have to see how this faucet dance performs with the people of Michigan. 

Updated [6:47 PM Eastern]: Here’s a clip exhibiting El-Sayed’s remark about Piker from Saturday: 

Abdul El-Sayed — who made his complete marketing campaign about Hasan Piker — now doesn’t need to reply for it:

EL-SAYED: “I’m gonna stop you right there…I am not interested in a conversation about a social media person in California.” pic.twitter.com/0fgWLoveFe

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 29, 2026

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will decide the destiny of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must keep control of both chambers of Congress.

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