Live TV
Rachel Maddow
Morning Joe
Deadline: White House
Our Shows
Opinion
Newsletters
Community
Explore
Share this:
TRENDING NOW
Mondays at 9PM ET
Weekdays at 6AM ET
Weekdays at 4PM ET
Weeknights at 10PM ET
Tuesdays – Fridays at 9PM ET
Weeknights at 7PM ET
Weeknights at 11PM ET
Weekdays 11AM-12PM ET
Weeknights at 8 p.m. ET
Weekdays at 9AM ET
Weeknights at 6PM ET
Weekends at 10AM ET
Weekends at 5PM ET
Weekdays at 2PM ET
Weekdays at 12PM ET
Weekends at 7AM ET
Weekdays at 5AM ET
Search
MS NOW TV
Watch Live
Rachel Maddow Show
Morning Joe
Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace
The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
The Weeknight
11th Hour with Ali Velshi
State of Play with Peter Alexander
All In with Chris Hayes
Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle
The Beat with Ari Melber
Connect with Jacob Soboroff
PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton
The Moment with Katy Tur
The Weekend
Way Too Early with Ali Vitali
Listen Live
TV Schedule
For Members
Live Q&As
Member-Exclusive Series
Community
More from MS NOW
Opinion
Elections
White House
Congress
Supreme Court
Culture
World
Science & Tech
Civil Rights
Business
Sports
Events
Podcasts
Newsletters
The Democratic Senate nominee is seeking to make amends over comments he made following a synagogue attack in March.
Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whose tight race in Michigan could make or break his party’s goal to win the Senate in November, is working this weekend to win over Jewish Democratic voters in his state.
El-Sayed began Saturday by apologizing to a group of Jewish Democrats for remarks he made following an attack on a synagogue outside Detroit in March, when he said “hurt people hurt people.”
“I made a mistake,” El-Sayed said, according to The New York Times, when asked about his comments at a Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus event in Lansing. “I should have issued a statement, of course condemning it, and it just should have been the full stop.”
He reportedly told the group of Jewish Democrats, “Nobody deserves to have their pain trampled on.”
The Democratic Senate nominee was scheduled to appear again on Sunday afternoon at another Democratic Jewish Caucus event to continue extending an olive branch for the comments he made after a man drove his car into a synagogue filled with preschool children — none of whom were injured — in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
“I know that our ideas can win when we take the time to actually explain them. It’s what people really want,” El-Sayed, who has publicly denounced antisemitism during his campaign, told MS NOW in a phone interview on Friday.
“Meanwhile, my opponent, Mike Rogers, won’t even debate me and his entire campaign is about trying to point to a streamer in California,” he said, referring to provocative comments made by far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, which some Jewish leaders and voters have characterized as antisemitic.
El-Sayed and Piker attended campaign events together during the Democratic primary race, but the Democratic nominee has since appeared to distance himself from the streamer amid the backlash.
Michigan Democrats, all too aware of the Senate race’s high stakes, are trying to look beyond the controversial streamer, whom more than half of Democratic voters don’t even know.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., appearing on MS NOW’s “The Weekend” Sunday, didn’t directly answer when co-host Jackie Alemany asked her why El-Sayed hasn’t disavowed Piker.
“I don’t understand Hassan Piker,” said Dingell, who told reporters last week to stop asking her questions about Piker. But she said she has had “very direct” and “blunt” conversations with El-Sayed.
“I tell him what I think,” she told MS NOW, noting that the Senate candidate apologized to the Jewish Caucus at the state party’s convention on Saturday and is expected to again on Sunday.
“So he’s listening. He’s taking the intake. We got to get this behind us. I want to talk about the issues,” Dingell said. “I have nothing to do with this on Piker.”
Erum Salam
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Get full access to exclusive coverage and member-only content
Rev. Al Sharpton answers your questions and inspires positive change every Sunday with a special focus on civil rights and activism.
John Pfaff
Anne Kim
Clarissa-Jan Lim
Anthony L. Fisher
Steve Benen
Steve Benen
Jordan Rubin
Jordan Rubin
Julia Jester
Meet the Team
Everything MS NOW, all together. Discover the shows everyone's talking about.
Explore
Explore
Explore
Explore
Explore
Explore
Explore
Explore
Explore
Explore
Get the MS NOW App
© Versant Media, LLC
Aiken County Democrats host Blue Bash ahead of midterms – WRDW
