Add The New York Post on Google A CNN panel exploded in a heated clash Monday night after Dems accused Republicans of launching an “anti-Muslim” attack on Michigan Senate hopeful Dr. Abdul El-Sayed by running an ad campaign using his full name.
During “CNN NewsNight” with guest host Jon Berman, the panel discussed Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) defense of an ad campaign that blasts El-Sayed as a dangerous candidate and uses the controversial lefty pol’s full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.
In an interview clip, the senator was asked whether the ads are an attempt to tell voters “hint, hint…he’s Muslim.” Scott responded, “Not at all … I can get called Timothy Eugene. I get called that all the time.”
After replaying the clip on CNN, Berman jibed, “I have never heard Tim Scott referred to as Timothy Eugene in a campaign ad.”
Niall Stanage, an Irish journalist and associate editor at The Hill, jumped in with a furious take on the GOP ad campaign.
“I don’t know how [Scott] says that with a straight face, honestly,” Stanage said. “The idea that using Tim Scott’s full name, unabbreviated, is equivalent to using Abdul El-Sayed’s full name is just ludicrous. It is obviously in El-Sayed’s case an appeal to anti-Muslim, anti-Arab sentiment.”
Jason Rantz, a conservative radio host, sarcastically sniped: “People didn’t know he was Muslim until they said his full name.”
Stanage plowed on, jumping off a comment from fellow panelist Yemisi Egbewole, a Dem strategist who brought up the fact that El-Sayed – a far-left candidate who has called for “Medicare for all” and ending ICE – will have to work to win over moderate voters.
“She rightly talked about the fact that El-Sayed has some work to do,” Stanage said. “Had [Rep.] Haley Stevens won that primary, she would also have had work to do, particularly with Arab Americans in a state that has the highest per capita population of Arab Americans in the country who believe that the Biden administration disgraced itself on Gaza.”
Jesse Arm, the head of external affairs at conservative think tank Manhattan Institute, cut in: “No, she would have less work to do because she’d have all the moderates working for her!”
But Stanage continued, saying there was backlash over the Biden administration “forfeiting concerns for human rights, all the while shoveling weapons to Mr. Netanyahu with which to kill 70,000 Palestinians.”
“It always goes back to the Jews!” Rantz exclaimed, as Arm agreed, “Exactly!”
“Like, every single time. It’s like a perfect example of some of what you’re talking about, like the coded language and whatnot. El-Sayed has brought up AIPAC and brings it up absolutely every single time he can because he wants to talk about the Jews,” Rantz said.
“AIPAC?” Stanage replied. “Because they support the most right-wing government in Israel’s history!”
Arm jumped in with a jab at Stanage’s Irish nationality, saying, “Oh my God, okay, dude chill! We understand that Ireland cares a lot about Palestine –”
“Because we don’t like people militarily subjugating and occupying people!” Stanage shot back, as the panel devolved into chaos and crosstalk.
Berman cut in to stop the yelling match, telling each of the three panelists that they had 10 seconds to speak on the topic.
“People of Michigan are actually scared of Abdul El-Sayed, not because of Israel or whatever, no one cares about Israel,” Arm argued. “He’s going to rip away Obamacare. He’s going to rip away private health insurance from the 66% of Americans who have it.”
Arm added that Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who endorsed El-Sayed, helped run a campaign that “was attacking Haley Stevens for collecting support from General Mills and General Motors. Michiganders don’t like the sound of that, anti-business politics.”
Stanage retorted: “A lot of these claims are made to distract from what El-Sayed is standing for on an economic basis…He stands for Medicare for all, which has pulled well for years –”
“Which would eliminate private health insurance!” Arm said.
Stanage continued: “He stands for the reduction of money in politics, which people of all kinds of ideology agree with, and those kinds of appeals to improve people’s economic lives. That’s why he won.”
“Yeah, he won the primary by the skin of his teeth despite the fact that he was supposed to lead by about 10 to 13 points depending on the poll because people realized what he stood for and they rejected it,” Rantz said, “which is precisely why Democrats are saying privately … that he’s going to lose, which makes it even more difficult for the Democrats to take back the Senate.”
Last week, El-Sayed won a primary election in Michigan over Stevens, a moderate, after running a campaign based on “Medicare for all,” abolishing ICE, ending US aid to Israel and imposing new millionaire and billionaire taxes.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated Stevens, meaning he will have to win over a lot of her supporters to beat former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in the November general election.
