Abdul El-Sayed turned an attack from Donald Trump into a pointed joke about the President’s ballroom obsession. The Michigan Senate nominee responded on CNN hours after Trump turned his speech, meant to sell tax legislation at a Las Vegas event, into a profane rant against him.
Abdul El-Sayed accused the president of focusing on personal fights instead of affordability
Trump called El-Sayed a “hater of Jews and a hater of Israel” and said he was “full of sh*t” during the Wednesday speech. El-Sayed instead noted that Trump spoke in front of a “No tax on tips” sign yet abandoned the topic. “The man can’t stay on focus,” El-Sayed told CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins. “That’s like the one thing that he did to offer any economic relief. But instead of that, he’s more focused on me.”
The Democrat then pivoted to the economic pressures he says Michiganders face daily. He pointed out high gas prices and linked them to the war Trump began in late February with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That war has claimed the lives of 18 U.S. troops. Trump initially promised it would last weeks. It has not.
“People are paying nearly $5 in gas because of a war he started,” El-Sayed said. “And half the time, if he‘s not talking about me, he‘s talking about the drapes in his ballroom.”
Last October, Trump ordered the 123-year-old East Wing demolished to clear space for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the project Trump’s “main priority” that month.
El-Sayed used the contrast to make his own message. “I invite the president to focus on what I‘m saying: I want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket and pass Medicare for All. I think a lot of Michiganders want that right now.” He then tied his Republican opponent, former congressman Mike Rogers, to Trump’s record on the Iran war and tariffs.
Donald Trump launched the verbal attack hours after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
