El-Sayed Criticized Biden's Handling of al-Zawahiri Strike, Citing Political Motivation
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's resurfaced remarks from 2022 accused President Biden of using the drone strike against the 9/11 mastermind to boost his approval ratings.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed criticized President Joe Biden's announcement of the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri in a 2022 U.S. drone strike, accusing the president of exploiting the event for political gain.
In an essay published by The New Republic in August 2022, El-Sayed wrote that Biden was using the strike to bolster his approval ratings ahead of the midterm elections. "It is troubling to watch yet another American president flog ‘War on Terror’ themes to resurrect a laggard term," El-Sayed stated at the time.
Al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a U.S. operation in Kabul, Afghanistan, was identified by intelligence officials as a key planner of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people on American soil. Biden announced the successful strike on August 1, 2022.
While condemning al-Zawahiri as a "craven terrorist" responsible for the deaths of civilians, El-Sayed argued that Biden's administration was using the strike as a