Republican attacks on Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed – from Ted Cruz’s ‘jihadist leprechaun’ slur to Donald Trump’s smears – mark one of the most openly bigoted US campaigns in decades.
US Republican Senator Ted Cruz claimed Wednesday that Americans could die if Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Democratic nominee for US Senate in Michigan, wins next week’s midterm election, prompting a fresh round of denunciation of Republicans’ Islamophobic bigotry.
“If Abdul El-Sayed becomes the senator for Michigan, there is absolutely nothing to stop Chuck Schumer from placing Abdul El-Sayed on the Senate Intelligence Committee,” Cruz said, envisioning a scenario in which Republicans lose control of the upper chamber of Congress and Schumer, currently the top Democrat, becomes majority leader.
“And if I am correct that he is a passionate supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, there is a very real risk that Americans will die as a result,” Cruz added.
Cruz wasn’t done – he also called El-Sayed a “jihadist leprechaun”, an apparent swipe at the doctor’s physical stature.
The Texas senator, whose comments came while campaigning for Republican Michigan US Senate candidate Mike Rogers, was excoriated for his remarks, and not just by Democrats.
“There really is nothing Ted Cruz won’t say if he thinks there is political benefit to be had,” American Conservative senior editor Luke Nicastro said on social media.
Matt Duss, a former top aide to US Senator Bernie Sanders and the current executive vice-president at the Center for International Policy think tank, took aim at not only Cruz but also C-SPAN, which aired a clip of the comments.
“This is straight-up incitement, and it’s f*****g disgusting that C-SPAN is clipping and promoting it,” Duss wrote on X.
The increasingly ugly Michigan Senate campaign has seen President Donald Trump repeatedly target El-Sayed’s name, religion and alleged political affiliations, as well as his wife. The president has called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and made baseless claims that he belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, while mocking his Arabic name.
Rogers has also questioned El-Sayed’s loyalties, asking whether he is “for America, or… for these terrorist groups overseas?”
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr also drew condemnation after making sweeping, demonstrably false claims about Arabs and Muslims during a Monday campaign event for Rogers in Grand Rapids.
More Perfect Union’s Paul Blest following Kennedy’s remarks, “This is the most nakedly bigoted American political campaign of this century.”
Republished from Common Dreams
Brett Wilkins is a San Francisco-based journalist and author who contributes regularly to Common Dreams and Counterpunch.