Abdul El-Sayed refused to name Israel or Iran as the bigger danger to the U.S. during a TV interview, brushing off the choice as a “dumb question” while Michigan’s Senate race spiraled into a fight over foreign policy, tariffs and Trump.
The exchange began when “On Balance” host Leland Vittert brought up an El-Sayed supporter who had ranked Israel above Iran as a threat to the United States.
“One of your supporters we interviewed seemed to think that Iran was a bigger threat — Israel — seemed to think Israel was a bigger threat than Iran to the United States. Do you agree?” Vittert asked.
El-Sayed (D-MI) never picked either country, instead steering the answer toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push for the U.S. conflict with Iran.
“Well, look, at the end of the day, our job is to address our issues diplomatically,” El-Sayed replied.
Radio silence from Abdul El-Sayed about the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks — yet this surfaces today. I wish I could say this is shocking.
When people tell you who they are, believe them. https://t.co/AUMebZJymG
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) October 7, 2026
“But, right now, we are in the war in Iran, in part, because of the advocacy of the Israeli prime minister. There’s no disagreement on that. He came to the Situation Room and advocated for the war.”
Vittert tried to pull him back to the original choice after El-Sayed shifted into U.S. spending abroad and rising costs at home.
“You’re going to be a senator, what do you view as the biggest threat?” Vittert asked.
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El-Sayed answered that he opposed using American tax money for wars overseas or unconditional military support for foreign governments.
“I’ve been more than extremely clear about this. I don’t want our tax dollars being used to subsidize war abroad. I don’t want our tax dollars being used to fund, unconditionally, foreign militaries. I think it’s important that we be the first among equals to enforce international law against any and every country that breaks it. So, this sort of, like, hypothetical, who’s a bigger threat is a dumb question,” he said, adding, “The big question is … what is the public policy we really want?”
El-Sayed had also argued that foreign spending was colliding with household strain in the U.S.
“We’re now paying, what? $1,600 for it — our gas, our groceries are unaffordable. And that’s on top of the billions in tax dollars that we spend sending our money over there. Now, how we think about a threat, that’s …”
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the Republican in the Senate race, used the clip to hammer El-Sayed over the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks.
“Radio silence from Abdul El-Sayed about the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks — yet this surfaces today. I wish I could say this is shocking. When people tell you who they are, believe them,” Rogers posted on X.
The Israel-Iran exchange arrived as Rogers and El-Sayed were already clashing over trade policy, Trump loyalty and each candidate’s independence.
Rogers’ Wednesday ad recast Canada as a partner Michigan could not afford to alienate, with the Republican calling for Washington to end the tariff dispute affecting the state’s northern neighbor.
“Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now,” Rogers said in the ad. “As Michigan’s senator, I’ll bring both parties together to lower your prices. That’s job number one.”
For El-Sayed, the ad handed him a chance to hit Rogers over his earlier support for President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Weeks earlier, Rogers had backed the policy as part of Trump’s “America First” approach, describing tariffs as “necessary” for Michigan in an Aug. 29 statement while also saying they were not “a size-fits-all solution.”
“Michigan deserves a Senator who will work with President Trump to broker a trade deal with Canada that supports our farmers and gets the best deal for Michigan autoworkers and manufacturers,” Rogers said at the time.
Rogers kept his answer state-focused when the Detroit Free Press asked Sept. 22 whether Trump should reconsider raising tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian imports to 50%.
“If it’s good for Michigan, I’m going to be for it,” Rogers responded.
El-Sayed, who had campaigned against the tariffs and branded them “Trump and Mike Rogers’ tariffs,” accused Rogers of changing positions because of the race.
“Must have had one too many of those LaBatts, Mike,” El-Sayed wrote on X. “You cheerled this tariff war from the beginning and you’re flip-flopping now because your poll numbers are in free fall. Donald is the reason we’re in a trade war. And he’s the reason you’re running. Not a serious person.”
The personal attacks sharpened during a Thursday night debate, with Rogers branding El-Sayed a “glitchy AI chatbot” and claiming he was “bought off by Hamas.”
Rogers also questioned El-Sayed’s medical credentials, accusing him of “selling the best con I’ve ever seen” and saying “he’s not really a doctor.”
El-Sayed pointed to his medical degree from Columbia University and told Rogers to take complaints about his credentials to the state licensing board.
He also portrayed Rogers as too eager to follow Trump on Iran, calling him “weak” and “cowardly.”
“Whenever Donald Trump says, jump. He says, ‘How high,’” El-Sayed said with a dry laugh.
Trump’s own attack came in a late-Wednesday Truth Social post that referred to El-Sayed as “Mohammed” and alleged that he “goes back to the days of the Jihad.”
“He is a Radical Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer,” Trump wrote.
El-Sayed, who was born to Egyptian parents, characterized Trump’s post as an “attack on all of us.”
“He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us,” El-Sayed responded.
