Barack Obama and Gavin Newsom are rushing to lock arms with Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed — a progressive who has rubbed shoulders with figures who say America had 9/11 coming — and ordinary Americans should take note of exactly whose side the Democratic machine picks when the chips are down.
El-Sayed emerged from a bruising primary against Rep. Haley Stevens, a race the New York Post described as a "battle for the soul of the Democratic Party." The party's soul, it turns out, lives on the far left. Now the establishment is falling in line, and the speed tells you everything about their priorities.
Obama called El-Sayed last week. El-Sayed told NBC's "Meet the Press" it was "a really warm and inspiring conversation" and that Obama "knows the critical role that Michigan is going to play in holding Trump accountable, in winning back the Senate." Newsom visited Michigan Monday, calling El-Sayed a "fighter" and urging Democrats to unite in what he called an "existential" moment. Pete Buttigieg joined a unity rally. Even Chuck Schumer — who backed Stevens in the primary — offered his tepid endorsement.
What none of these power brokers are addressing: El-Sayed's willingness to associate with characters who despise this country. The Post noted that El-Sayed has embraced Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once declared that "America deserved 9/11." The Democratic establishment's response to that association has been silence — and a photo op.
Newsom, for his part, rejected any suggestion of tension between his brand and El-Sayed's. "This notion of insurgency over incumbency is the real message here," he told reporters. "People just want fighters; they want people with conviction, strength, sincerity." He even called himself an "insurgent insider" — a phrase that would make any honest populist wince. Newsom has been working to repair his standing with the progressive base after vetoing left-wing priorities like a statewide wealth tax on billionaires during his time as governor.
On the Republican side, Vice President JD Vance isn't letting El-Sayed's rhetoric slide. El-Sayed called Vance "Peter Thiel's boy" and said the last time Vance "made any sense" was before he backed Trump, accusing Republicans of doing "anything for power and money, including corrupt their office."
Vance fired back on Fox News: "He's just kind of an odd guy, but I think that it's telling that instead of talking about what he wants to do to make the lives of Michiganders better, he takes personal insults at me." Vance didn't mince words: "I think the guy's crazy and would be a terrible senator for the people of Michigan."
Republican Senate hopeful Mike Rogers warned last week that whoever survived the Democratic primary would face a "coalition problem" with voting starting in roughly five weeks. Schumer clearly agreed — he backed Stevens as the more electable candidate. But electability, it seems, matters less to the Democratic machine than solidarity with the progressive vanguard.
The question that hangs over this race isn't whether Democrats can unite — it's what they're uniting around. When a party's standard-bearers rush to embrace a candidate who won't distance himself from people who say this country deserved the worst terrorist attack in its history, voters deserve a straight answer about where the line is. So far, no one in the Democratic leadership has been willing to draw one.
