Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed on Monday defended a disparaging remark he made about Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), referring to the Pennsylvania Democrat as an “ogre” he would like to see put “on a pike.” El-Sayed made the comment during a Zoom meeting with donors and was pressed on it during the final debate before Michigan’s August 4 primary.
During the debate, moderator Roop Raj of Fox 2 News in Detroit noted that many people took offense to the remark, asking El-Sayed if he regretted his comments. El-Sayed responded by doubling down on his criticism of Fetterman, whom he accused of abandoning his campaign values.
“I was referring to a guy named John Fetterman, who’s a senator from Pennsylvania who has done terrible things,” El-Sayed stated. “He got elected on a set of values and is now completely throwing those values in the mud.” He added that it is important for Michigan senators to have relationships with their U.S. Senate counterparts and to hold them accountable if they are not acting in accordance with what they were elected on.
The audio from the Zoom call, obtained by Politico, revealed El-Sayed’s suggestion that primarying figures like Fetterman could serve as a warning to other Democrats. “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different,” he said on the call.
Fetterman, who is known for his height of 6 feet 8 inches and has faced public commentary on his physical appearance, responded to El-Sayed’s remark by telling an outlet, “I pick being Senator Shrek over being the Pontiac Platner any day.”