Nancy Pelosi is done pretending the Democrat Party has its act together on just about anything, especially topics revolving around Israel. During an appearance on the On Brand podcast with host Donny Deutsch, Pelosi publicly torched Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, calling his views on Israel “more than concerning” and essentially leaving him out to dry before Election Day.
Deutsch set the table by pointing out that part of the Democrat Party has “just abandoned Israel and actually has tones of antisemitism.” Pelosi pushed back on the broader accusation, noting that she has “more Jewish grandchildren than anybody in Congress” and doesn’t know of “anybody” in the Democrat caucus “who is engaged in antisemitism.” If there are any, she generously allowed, “it’s only a few.” Great defense, Nancy. Really inspiring stuff.
Things got spicy when Deutsch brought up El-Sayed specifically, saying the candidate has stated he doesn’t believe Israel should be a Jewish state. Pelosi didn’t exactly rush to his defense. It’s more than concerning, it’s wrong,” she said, adding that it “isn’t a reflection of the Democrats in the Congress of the United States.” Then came the real vote of confidence: “This new person, Michigan will see if he gets elected to Congress.” That’s the kind of ringing endorsement that really moves the needle.
And it turns out Pelosi has plenty of reasons to keep her distance. El-Sayed’s Israel debate comments show that during a recent debate against Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, El-Sayed was asked whether he would vote to provide defensive weapons to Israel if the country was attacked by Iran or another state actor. He didn’t say yes. He didn’t say no. He essentially indicated he would not vote to help Israel defend itself because he doesn’t believe in tax dollars “buying weapons for other countries.” So Iran could be lobbing missiles at Tel Aviv and this guy’s worried about the budget.
There’s more. During an ABC News interview, El-Sayed called Israel “not our friend” and said “an ally that takes your money to push you into wars you shouldn’t be fighting is not an ally.” On NBC News, he addressed posts from his half-sister about his family’s alleged relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, insisting his family has “no ties” and dismissing the questions as “hearsay evidence from a tweet.
Michigan voters will have the final say on El-Sayed when they head to the polls, with Republican Mike Rogers waiting to see if Democrats hand him the seat by nominating someone even Nancy Pelosi won’t fully back. When you’ve lost Pelosi, you haven’t lost the left, but you’ve definitely lost the room. Michigan, the ball is in your court.
