Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed refused three separate times during a Monday-released ABC News interview to give a straight answer on whether he condemns Iran's current regime, instead calling the question an "odd approach" and pivoting to criticism of President Trump's Iran policy.
According to Breitbart's account of the exchange, El-Sayed did not say yes or no. Instead he offered, "They've engaged in horrific acts. There's no question about that. I am for democracy. I'm for human rights." He then pivoted to the Obama-era nuclear deal, the JCPOA, and to criticizing President Trump's handling of Iran policy.
Pressed on the condemnation question directly, El-Sayed characterized the request itself as strange."
He closed by arguing the real debate should be about American values rather than a condemnation checklist. "Can we actually, objectively ask what our values are? We want to promote democracy all over the world," El-Sayed said.
The non-answer is the story. A candidate for the United States Senate was handed a yes-or-no question about one of the world's most repressive governments — a regime that has killed thousands of its own citizens in crackdowns, armed proxies across the Middle East, and held American citizens as hostages — and he treated the question as the problem rather than the regime.
Breitbart reported that El-Sayed was asked three times and declined each time to simply say he condemns the regime. Voters in Michigan can judge for themselves what that refusal signals.
El-Sayed's comments came during an ABC News interview released Monday. The clip circulated widely on social media, where the exchange drew criticism from conservative commentators who noted the contrast between El-Sayed's reluctance to condemn Tehran and his willingness to condemn the American president's Iran policy in the same breath.
Michigan's Senate race has drawn national attention as Republicans work to hold and expand their Senate majority. El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, has positioned himself as a progressive voice in the Democratic primary field. His handling of foreign policy questions — particularly on Iran — is likely to face further scrutiny as the general election approaches.
It is not yet known whether El-Sayed's campaign has responded to requests for clarification on his position regarding the Iranian government. The full ABC News interview has been released, and the exchange on Iran can be viewed in full.
Our Take
Let's be clear about what just happened. A man asking Michigan voters to send him to the U.S. Senate was given the easiest softball in foreign policy: do you condemn the Iranian regime? He could have said yes in one syllable and moved on. Instead, he called the question "odd," refused three times, and turned the moment into a lecture about American values.
Patriots, this is what the modern Democrat Party looks like. There was a time — not that long ago — when condemning a regime that chants "Death to America," funds Hamas and Hezbollah, and shoots its own women in the streets was the easiest bipartisan layup in Washington. El-Sayed couldn't bring himself to take it. He'd rather attack President Trump's maximum-pressure policy than utter a single clear word against Tehran.
Ask yourself why. Why is it so hard for a Senate candidate to say the Ayatollah's regime is bad? What constituency is he afraid of offending? Michigan voters deserve an answer, and they deserve a senator who doesn't need three tries and a philosophy seminar to condemn a hostile foreign government.
The Trump administration has been clear-eyed about the threat Iran poses — and that clarity is exactly what's missing from candidates like this one. When the choice is between a president who stands against the regime and a candidate who can't say the word "condemn," the contrast writes itself.
Michigan, remember this interview in November. And El-Sayed — you've had three chances. The question stands.
