'People were sad': Michigan Democrat sidesteps Tapper's question on ayatollah's death
WASHINGTON, DC: Controversial Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, avoided questions over his alleged remark that a lot of people in Dearborn were upset over the killing of the supreme leader of Iran in a joint strike by the US and Israel.
El-Sayed was asked about the alleged remark during an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union' with Jake Tapper on Sunday, July 19.
Jake Tapper just pressed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over his REFUSAL to comment on the death of Iran’s Ayatollah.
— Overton (@overton_news) July 19, 2026
El-Sayed immediately tried to pivot away from the question, but Tapper wasn’t letting him off the hook.
TAPPER: “20 weeks ago when Iran’s supreme… pic.twitter.com/xeeiACgSUH
Jake Tapper presses Abdul El-Sayed over ayatollah audio remarks
Tapper cited a March report from the Washington Free Beacon that published audio of El-Sayed saying "there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad" after the ayatollah was killed at the start of the Iran war.
In the same recording, El-Sayed said he did not want to comment further because he did not think it was worth discussing.
Dearborn, Michigan, is home to a large Muslim population and one of the largest mosques in the United States.
“Why were you worried about offending people who support the ayatollah?” Tapper asked.
El-Sayed shook his head and smirked as Tapper asked the question. He then proceeded to not answer it — and instead opted to talk about President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
El-Sayed redirects interview towards killing of US servicemen
“Jake, on a day where we’re mourning the loss of two more service members in a war we never should have fought, I think all of us should step back and ask in Michigan — frankly everyone in America — that this president, backed by a prime minister of a foreign government, took us to a war we had no business fighting in," El-Sayed said.
“So yeah, I didn’t want to comment on it then, because it’s a ridiculous pretext. And now you’re asking about the ayatollah, who’s dead, by the way, and you’re not asking me about the service members who died,” he added.
“I was specifically asking you about comments you didn’t want to make because you didn’t want to offend people in Dearborn, which is in Michigan,” Tapper replied.
As El-Sayed did not answer the questions, Tapper then asked him about immigration policy.
El-Sayed is in a tight Senate race with Rep Haley Stevens. He has been a frequent guest on cable news lately — and his comments have been talked about quite a bit as well.
Sen John Fetterman (D-PA) ripped El-Sayed on Fox News on Saturday for claiming Israel was just as “evil” as Hamas, among other gripes he has about Israel.
