A Democratic Senate candidate running in the battleground state of Michigan said the United States should try to understand why terrorists commit such „heinous acts,“ suggesting those actions stem from a place of „pain and frustration and a level of lack of agency.“
Abdul El-Sayed, a medical doctor and former Wayne County health director, is vying for Michigan’s open Senate seat in the 2026 midterms. He is running on a platform that includes Medicare for All and free education, and has been critical of Israel.
In July 2025, El-Sayed held a town hall in South Haven, Michigan, where a constituent asked how he would address terrorism if elected to the Senate. The exchange was captured on video and first obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
El-Sayed said that while the United States’ current approach to terror, which leverages U.S. military might against terrorist organizations, is „necessary,“ he suggested that leaders must also try to „understand“ where terrorists are coming from.
„I also think we need to be curious about why those things happen in the first place, like, [what] drives somebody to want to commit such a heinous act,“ El-Sayed said. „I have to be a student of people’s pain. Like, that’s, that’s what I did in medicine. That’s what I try to do in politics, like, what, what happens when people are in pain?“
El-Sayed said that terrorism is political violence committed in „pursuit of a political end.“
„There is a level of pain and frustration and a level of lack of agency that they have to feel to do something so insane and absurd, right?“ El-Sayed said.
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He then said that the „heinous acts“ of terrorists lead him to reflect on how „we’re behaving that may get somebody to think that we don’t see them.“
„And I think too often, the way we’ve engaged in the world has been that we set up this rules based international order, and then we break the rules of the rules based international order,“ El-Sayed said. „And that creates a situation where there are a lot of people who look at us and say, that’s hypocritical, and that’s wrong.“
He said the United States should not respond in ways that don’t „inflame tensions“ and that, if elected to the Senate, he would bring „empathy“ to U.S. conversations about and responses to terror. He accused Americans of being „high and mighty“ in their current views of global conflict.
„I think that for us, there is strength in wisdom and there is strength in empathy, and there is strength in justice, and there’s strength in consistency,“ El-Sayed said.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, has been highly critical of Israel’s actions during the Gaza War. He previously accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, and he has campaigned with internet personality Hasan Parker, who has aligned himself with the terrorist group Hamas. Parker said he would vote for Hamas, saying it is a „thousand times better“ than Israel and that he would vote for Hamas over Israel „every single time.“
In the Democratic primary, El-Sayed faces competition from Rep. Hayley Stevens, D-Mich., and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMarrow.
Fox News Digital reached out to Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers and El-Sayed for comment.
Battleground Dem says terrorists act from ‘pain and frustration,’ accuses Americans of being ‘high and mighty’ 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-04-17 16:55:10 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
