Democrat Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s resurfaced 2019 anti-Thanksgiving remarks and calls for reparations have drawn sharp criticism, potentially jeopardizing his odds in the swing state.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Democrat Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed criticized Thanksgiving and called for reparations in unearthed social media posts. 📺 DETAIL: In 2019, on Thanksgiving, El-Sayed posted that it was “Time for Reparations” and criticized the holiday as being built on the “systematic annihilation” of Indigenous Peoples. This follows similar past comments by El-Sayed, such as calling to cancel July 4 celebrations and his hatred for Michigan’s Mackinac Island, among other things. “Just a reminder this #Thanksgiving. This country was built on the systematic annihilation of Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestors [sic] suffer some of the highest rates of homelessness, joblessness, and mortality today,” El-Sayed posted. The post was deleted but archived online. Other past comments from El-Sayed include calling to defund the police and abolishing Americans’ right to bear arms. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “We owe so much more than ‘thanks.’ Time for Reparations.” – Abdul El-Sayed in his 2019 Thanksgiving post on X (formerly Twitter) 🎯 IMPACT: The unearthed posts have increased scrutiny of El-Sayed’s Senate candidacy. El-Sayed’s far-left position on cultural and social matters could alienate many moderate, conservative, and independent voters in Michigan, a swing state. El-Sayed’s comments also underscore the extent to which anti-American and far-left beliefs have become part of the Democrat mainstream. El-Sayed’s past comments are likely to feature heavily in the campaign between now and November 3, when the state goes to the polls. 📺 FLASHBACK: El-Sayed’s comments echo other progressive candidates seeking the Democrat nomination for various positions across multiple states. Francesca Hong, who recently failed to secure the Democrat nomination for Wisconsin’s governor race, faced criticism for previous posts calling to end Thanksgiving. “Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621. If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx [sic] and women, so be it,” posted Hong. |
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