‘Absolute Gutter Racism’: Republicans Start Ugly Attacks On El-Sayed
Coordinated, national attack on Michigan’s Democratic nominee for US Senate
National Republicans have already begun their fusillade of racist and Islamophobic attacks against Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
It’s been barely 24 hours since the progressive former health official captured the nomination to run for US Senate, but he is already facing ugly attacks from Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and a variety of other prominent Republicans.
These are the sort of ugly shots El-Sayed himself warned about Wednesday, just hours after he was named as the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary election.
El-Sayed is running to succeed Democratic Sen Gary Peters, who is retiring after two terms.
In the November election, El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman from Michigan.
But, already, Rogers and his Republican allies have fought El-Sayed not so much with policy differences, but with outright racism and Islamophobia.
El-Sayed, a physician, is a US citizen and the son of Egyptian immigrants.
Rogers, himself, kicked off the general election campaign with several ugly remarks.
He released a statement Wednesday calling El-Sayed “an extremist.”
“I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11,” Rogers’ statement said.
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That claim was just false. El-Sayed never said that the United States deserved the deadly terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
“But he’s brown and the son of Egyptian immigrants, so there you are,” said Michael Steele, who once was the chairman of the Republican National Committee and today is a host on the MS NOW cable network.
Rogers has not been the only Republican to attack El-Sayed in crass terms.
Appearing Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nev, Trump said, “When I watch Abdul, he’s full of shit.”
In a separate appearance, Vice President JD Vance took his own swipe at El-Sayed, clearly hoping that his audience would recoil at the Democrat’s foreign-sounding name.
“We don’t want the next administration, whoever -- god forbid you’re gonna have President El-Sayed in three years ... “ Vance said.
Even before the primary was called for El-Sayed, Republican Sen Ted Cruz, of Texas, appeared on Fox News where he trafficked in wildly untrue and irresponsible claims about the Michigan Democrat.
Cruz, whose first name is “Rafael,” and himself is the son of a Cuban migrant, said that El-Sayed wants to “cancel” Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Cruz made these unfounded claims without being challenged by Fox News host Jesse Watters.
“What the hell is he talking about?” Steele asked. “No one — no one — is talking about canceling Christmas, Ted.”
After mismanaging the US economy and supporting Trump’s disastrous war in Iran, Republicans can run on nothing but racism and ugliness, Steele noted in an appearance on MS NOW.
“It’s just absolute gutter racism,” he said. “And, folks, we have to stop normalizing this crap. We’ve got to stop accepting this at face value.
“We have to call it out loudly and clearly,” he added. “But it’s also very important to remind folks that they’re resorting to the racist nonsense because it’s all they got.
“The Republican Party is a mess. I know it from the inside. It is a hot mess,” Steele said. “Their policies are hurting people all across the country.”
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