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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed once urged government officials to consider defunding the police amid a string of other progressive left-wing policies that he now says are no longer reflective of his political views.
Resurfaced videos from a YouTube podcast show El-Sayed suggesting that lawmakers replace the Second Amendment with a constitutional right to healthcare and encouraging the public to rethink the way it celebrates Independence Day in clips that are now deleted.
“Fireworks just aren’t worth it: hear us out” one deleted video from 2024 read, according to CNN’s KFile, which first reported the clips.
El-Sayed suggested that the loud noise from fireworks could trigger veterans that suffer from PTSD or endanger children and pets. He now says his outlook on the holiday has shifted.
“Abdul is the former captain of his high school football team, loves Michigan football on Saturdays, and celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks like the next Michigander. Cherry-picked comments from old podcasts don’t reflect his beliefs today,” his campaign told CNN.
The campaign did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
Other clips show the Democratic Senate nominee in conversation with sports analyst Garrett Bush, who said football doesn’t have direct ties to slavery but operates in an environment that resembles “sharecropping,” where players benefit the least financially from a strenuous and physically demanding sport.
Some strategists say the clips of El-Sayed are bait for Republicans looking to tie the Democratic nominee to unconventional policies that will deter voters from backing him.
He’s not the only Democrat facing intense questions about his past beliefs.
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong is reckoning with previous social media posts that suggested cancelling Thanksgiving, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is still answering questions about whether she still supports defunding the police, a method of reform that she’s distanced herself from since her first term.
Hong has also walked back her statement about cancelling the annual Thanksgiving holiday.
Ocasio-Cortez said COVID-19 drove a “huge opening of the Overton window.”
“We were shut down. There was some of the highest unemployment rates that we have seen because of those shutdowns. And I think that the doors were really open in trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place,” during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
Despite good intentions, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said past comments are “making it easier” for GOP candidates to win their races, especially in a swing state like Michigan.
“I’m certain that Abdul El-Sayed is making it easier. Because he is inconsistent with Michiganders of either side of the aisle,” Scott told CNN’s Manu Raju on Sunday.
“By the way, he’s someone who wants to defund police, defund ICE, who wants to abolish our concept of a border,” the senator added, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “He’s just wrong for Michigan.”
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