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Michigan Senate Democratic member Dr. Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on some of his controversial statements during an interview on Monday.
El-Sayed, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the Michigan Senate seat in 2026, recently addressed some of his past comments on social media about defunding the police. He also faced controversy for responding to the synagogue attack in March by commenting that “hurting people hurts people.”
Speeches from far-left politicians about violence, even metaphorically, have come under heavy scrutiny in recent years after the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.
During Monday's interview, CBS anchor Major Garrett noted that “Michelle Obama used to have a saying, 'When they go down, we go up.' You have a difference in that. What is it?”
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Even as he has retracted some of his previous statements, Abdul El-Sayed has doubled down on the controversial language he has used regarding the opposition to the Republic. (Monica Morgan/Getty Images)
“Listen, I have a lot of respect for the First Lady,” El-Sayed began. “I think, though, that Democrats need to be careful, and I learned this the hard way, when I was a kid named Abdul in school, I learned the hard way that if you let them eat your lunch, guess what happens, you don't eat lunch. And I want to eat lunch. I want everybody to eat lunch. So if they come out and try to harass us, I won't be surprised again, we won't fight again. It.”
“I heard him say, 'If they go down, we turn them off,'” Garrett said.
This appeared to be a reference to the famous moment during the meeting when El-Sayed announced, “If they go down, we don't come up. We take them to the mud and choke them.”
“I mean it's their choice to go down,” Garrett said. “Don't come down. I'm just saying.”
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Abdul El-Sayed (R) answers a question during a press conference at the Michigan Democratic Party State Endorsement Convention in Detroit on April 19, 2026 while communications director Roxie Richner (C) looks on. (Jose Juarez/AP Photo)
Garrett also pressed him during the interview that his campaign with leftist broadcaster Hasan Piker will definitely be an issue his opponents will target.
“Major, I'm sitting with you. I don't know everything you said. I'm sure you said things I don't agree with. You said things I agree with,” answered El-Sayed. “It's often in the real world. We hold people accountable for what they said, not what the person around them said. And it's this funny gotcha game that Democrats like to play and Republicans like to play, that I think people are sick and tired of politics.”
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Hasan Piker campaigned with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. (Sam Barnes/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images)
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