Senate candidate ripped over 'word salad' response to whether world is better off without Ayatollah

By Fox News · Fox News

Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing pushback from conservatives on social media and the Republican he’s running against over an appearance where he was accused of equating the "radicalism" of Iran with the "MAGA movement." "There are many people who see the downfall of the regime as a good thing, but the question of whether or not it was pursued legally, that's a different question," the progressive candidate told "America's Newsroom" on Wednesday. El-Sayed was responding to controversy over a Washington Free Beacon report on leaked audio of him explaining why he shouldn’t take a public position on the death of former Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei because of people in Dearborn, Michigan, who are "sad." "Whether or not its worth $31 billion of our taxes and counting a billion dollars a day, that's another thing. Whether or not we should be paying higher rates at the pump every single time we try to just get where we're going and pump gas… that [is] a big question, and I'll tell you what, there are a lot of people who are really sad about the fact that they thought that the era of foreign wars, of never-ending regime change wars were over, and here we are." During another point in the interview, El-Sayed was asked, "Would we all not be better off if the radicals in Iran did not make decisions for the people?" DEMOCRATS TEAM UP WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER WHO ONCE SAID ‘AMERICA DESERVED 9/11’ El-Sayed responded, "Radicalism of any sort is bad, which is why this MAGA movement taking us into yet another war in my lifetime, and I’m only 41, is so ridiculous." El-Sayed quickly faced pushback from Republicans who accused him of not sufficiently explaining his comments in the leaked audio and equating the Ayatollah’s regime with the Trump administration. "Democrats in 2026," GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X . "Abdul Al Sayed is asked point blank if the world is better off without the world's largest state sponsor of terror. And gives a word sal…