Michigan Dem Senate Candidate Struggles to Explain Falsely Claiming to be a Physician
“You got attacked by your rivals for calling yourself a physician, not just a doctor, even though you don’t have a valid state medical license in New York or Michigan…”
There have been several developments in recent weeks in the race for the Michigan Democratic Senate nomination, with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropping out over the July 4th holiday weekend.
Though McMorrow’s campaign briefly gained traction in the early spring, she couldn’t sustain it amid the surge in support for Abdul El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health department director whose anti-Israel and pro-Hamas rhetoric has become a flashpoint in what’s been called a “proxy war” between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian contenders, and for the future of the Democratic Party.
El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11) are the two Democratic contenders left in this race. Their attacks on each other have become increasingly acrimonious the closer it gets to primary day, as evidenced by a debate held on Tuesday where the two went toe to toe:
In one particularly sharp exchange, Dr. El-Sayed repeated his assertion that corporations that give money to super PACs to back Ms. Stevens are buying future support from her if she is elected. Ms. Stevens responded by citing Republican ads aiming to help Dr. El-Sayed in the primary.
“He won’t denounce the G.O.P. when they are funding his operation,” she said.
Dr. El-Sayed retorted sarcastically: “I’m sure everybody out there thinks that Republicans really want me to win this race. Sure.”
The clash between the two candidates has become increasingly hostile in recent days.
Each has announced websites purporting to show politically unhelpful facts about the other, and they have engaged in a war or words online after Dr. El-Sayed, in an interview with Semafor, accused Ms. Stevens of being “a suit with a large AIPAC bank account.” He added that “I hope maybe they find some way to teach her how to string together two coherent sentences.”
Ms. Stevens’s supporters accused Dr. El-Sayed of sexism for suggesting that she was not a competent orator. And Ms. Stevens, whose campaign is backed by more than $30 million in super PAC spending, a portion of which is coming from groups tied to AIPAC, has clearly been stung by his attacks.
Surprisingly, El-Sayed is getting pushback on some of his claims by typically Democrat-friendly media outlets like CNN, which fact-checked his false statement that he had never been a proponent of defunding the police:
Michigan Democratic Senate front-runner Abdul El-Sayed has faced criticism for previous comments he made about defunding the police. In recent interviews, El-Sayed has insisted he “never, never called for defunding” the police. Last week in an interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt, he said he deleted old tweets supporting the movement because they were taken “out of context,” calling them “clickbait in DC.”
But interviews from 2020 show El-Sayed repeatedly endorsed defunding the police, according to a CNN KFile review of his media appearances. “We do need to defund the police,” El-Sayed said in a 2020 radio interview while specifically discussing how the slogan could undermine criminal justice reform efforts.
El-Sayed’s interviews from 2020 and 2021 show him embracing the “defund the police” movement — not just uttering the phrase but supporting the key principle of reinvesting funds from the police into other public-sector spaces such as mental health and anti-poverty efforts.
Even more surprising was former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, who shares El-Sayed’s views on the Israel-Hamas war and has generally been supportive of his Senate candidacy. He pressed the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons graduate on why he has repeatedly called himself a physician when he’s not one:
Hasan: You got attacked by your rivals for calling yourself a physician, not just a doctor, even though you don’t have a valid state medical license in New York or Michigan, which apparently is what you need legally to call yourself a physician. Do you wish you’d just stuck to calling yourself a doctor, which you are, to avoid all of this controversy and attacks on your physician status?
El-Sayed: You know, at the end of the day, it’s not about whether or not I’m a physician or a doctor. The question is, can you see a doctor? It’s not about my education; it’s about whether or not your kid gets to get an education. So, I’m just not spending time…
Hasan: Well, that’s a good line, but people would say it’s also about – did you tell the truth?
El-Sayed: Well, I would say that I was the health director for the city of Detroit, and I’ve done more to provide more people health care or eliminate medical debt than most doctors have done in their practice career.
Watch:
HOST: You're calling yourself a physician, you don’t have a valid state medical license in New York or Michigan…
EL-SAYED: “It’s not about whether or not I’m a physician or a doctor…”
HOST: "That’s a good line, but people would say it’s also about did you tell the truth?” pic.twitter.com/6v8vDvnGR2— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 8, 2026
Hasan also grilled El-Sayed on a lack of transparency regarding financial disclosures:
During another exchange, Hasan pressed El-Sayed on his net worth and why he filed to delay to release his financial disclosure form on August 13th – after the August [4th] Democratic Party primary.
“Haley Stevens has also attacked you and Mike Rogers for being millionaires who, she says, conveniently did not file their 2026 personal financial disclosures. You’ve sought an extension through August 13th, I believe, which is after the primary. Was this to avoid transparency with your voters? Why not release them before the election?” Hasan asked.
“No, just taxes get complicated. My wife and her family own property abroad, and so getting all those tax forms is a thing,” El-Sayed replied…
Watch:
Abdul El-Sayed says he asked to delay his financial disclosures until after the Michigan primary because "my wife and her family own property abroad, so getting all those tax forms is a thing."
When asked if he is a millionaire, he says it's unfair to compare his and Haley… pic.twitter.com/SJ4UGDJGZb
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 8, 2026
Though El-Sayed still has the momentum, the latest polling shows the race tightening since McMorrow’s exit. Stevens now has a slight edge, though it is within the margin of error:
Tavern Research asked likely voters to pick between the two as if the Aug. 4 primary were held today. Stevens led with 42% saying they would vote for the congresswoman, but another 41% said they would cast a ballot for El-Sayed. Notably, 18% of those surveyed said they weren’t sure, comprising a sizable chunk of undecided voters.
Tavern Research poll | 7/6-7/7 LV
US Senate Michigan Democratic primary 2026
🟦Haley Stevens 42%
🟦Abdul El-Sayed 41%
Not sure 18%
——
🟦Abdul El-Sayed 41%
🟦Haley Stevens 38%
🟦Mallory McMorrow 5% (dropped out)
Not sure 16%Link to poll: https://t.co/TwOtRKwAwQ pic.twitter.com/Nd4jTMKsJI
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) July 8, 2026
Absentee ballots have been mailed, and early in-person voting for the primary starts on Saturday, July 25th. Primary day is August 4th. The winner will face Trump-backed former Rep. Mike Rogers (MI-08) in the general election.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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Comments
Right out of the starting blocks, did he past National Boards I, II, and even tried III although not likely? Did he do anything with the degree? Even slugging through an internship hell year would have given him some chops. If he didn’t do anything with the degree then it was “wasted” when someone else would have gone on to practice. So he is academically gifted but with no commitment. Is politics his next trophy?
I can’t fault a path like that. If he had desire to go into public health, having medical degree could possibly be an education that could help him in the field. Certainly, it would give him a POV not provided by a degree in public health.
I know a nuclear physicist (who worked for the Navy on nuclear weapons) who went to law school because of his interest in “the money question” and the history of money in the United States. Did he become an attorney? No, he did not. Did he waste his time and take up space that could have been used by someone else? No, he did not. He did what anyone else who wants to go to law school does – competed against other candidates because he had a personal interest in the law. It’s nobody’s business that his personal interest didn’t become a professional interest.
Now, is he a lying POS? He’s a Muslim. What does their Quran instruct them to do when dealing with non-believers?
I’m not defending him, I’m calling it like I see it.
PhD/MD combo is a fine basis for a public health career.
A PhD/MD earned the PhD before MD. One of my attendings had PhD in Physics before earning MD. MD/PhD is MD than goes on… such a Public Health. Far more rigorous the former than the latter.
That very much depends on your definition of rigor and the requirements of the setting. Primary care practitiioners need the rigor of MD. Researchers need the rigor of a Ph.D.,in statistics. Most medical researchers don’t have that background. The good ones do.
The MSTP programs in the 80’s were on-average a 7yr commitment where the first two years were med, then 3 yrs for the PhD research part, then final 2yrs of clinical. The benefit was having the first 5 yrs tuition covered as well as a pre-doctoral stipend. The actual trajectory was 1/3 did the whole thing, 1/3 moved on after doing the PhD part, and 1/3 bailed after the first 3 yrs, usually getting a Masters of some sort, and went straight to clinical. Academic medicine is a very different feel than your private practice operation. I worked with a lot of people who did 4 yrs of med school and then went straight to research, as well as a lot of dentists who did concurrent PhD and graduate dental specialty training to further their academic career.
The issue is not whether or not he’s a bad or incompetent person because he never went on to get licensed; it’s that he is styling himself as a physician when he isn’t one.
Also known as LYING about your credentials.
It’s OK. Taqiyya is not only allowed when speaking with non-satanists. The koran demands it.
Yes, as a Muslim, they are encouraged to lie to non- believers, so between that and the fact that he is a Democrat, don’t expect any real truth from him. Democrats are some of the worst liars in Politics today, along with the Muslims !
Of course he did something with the degree. He made a career as an epidemiologist. He has that MD from Columbia, and a PhD in public health from Oxford. Many people do MDs with no intention of practicing medicine. For instance med/law degrees usually go into law or some public policy role rather than into medical practice.
There is a physician shortage in the this country, but no shortage of lawyers. There is also a problem of currency. I seriously considered going to law school after MD…. but realized while it would be academically challenging , it was a waste of time better used in medicine.
And yet many people do med/law and go into law.
I would imagine that the malpractice insurance is considerably lower for liars, I mean, lawyers.
And here he is again…..falling over himself to defend Democrat lies.
Have they just taken your mask away? Is that it?
Go back to Hell, you lying demonic piece of filth. I am telling the plain truth — a concept that you don’t even recognize.
Politics and marketing are the throwback careers for the useless slugs of humanity.
Why didn’t they ask him to define what a “doctor” is?? He could channel Ketanji Brown Jackson to help him with an answer.
Whoopi thinks he should be the next Surgeon General.
An amazing mop head. Little else to commend her for.
Her character in Star Trek was pretty interesting and she did an ok job.
He may be more qualified than Biden’s
.
A doctor is someone who has the degree. A physician is someone who actually treats patients.
“Doctor” Jill Biden…
The ultimate duck.
Quack
Quack
Quack
Two explanations.
1) he identifiesas a physician
2) he’s muslim and so is lying. Taqiyya or however it’s speld.
Either option is fine with demonrats.
If he loses his election, he can probably get Whoopi to lobby to make him Surgeon General instead.
That is in fact a logical position for someone with his credentials. Someone who isn’t a socialist POS, that is. His character makes him unfit for any public office, but his credentials suit him exactly to such a role.
Just look at Anthony Fauci.
So did he spend all that time at evil medical school just to be called ‘Mr’?
Who paid for his medical school or does he have 10zillion dollars in student loans that someone else is paying off.
I believe I read he was on scholarships of some sort. I sure didn’t fund it myself.
U of M gave him a full scholarship. Puzzling though. Don’t know how he paid for his Columbia attendance where he graduated,
According to WP, he was funded by a scholarship from a Soros foundation, and also by Columbia’s Medical Scientist Training Program.
The Medical School Training Program is/was a federal program that pays for 8 years of tuition and provides a stipend for M.D./Ph.D. students. (We and one of our sons were happy to be the beneficiary of this program–he is practicing in emergency medicine, without any debt).
English surgeons spend years working to be called “doctor”, and then years more to go back to “mister”.
Wasn’t DR Evil the son of a Belgian boulangerie owner Father with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery and his Mother a French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet?
Since British surgeons trace themselves to barber-surgeons, they prefer “Mr..” I have great respect for British medical training in the UK and the Commonwealth.
El-Sayed: You know, at the end of the day, it’s not about whether or not I’m a physician or a doctor. The question is, can you see a doctor?
File under: Another worthless muslim dick.
Nevermind the doctor crap. Where exactly does his wife and her family own property? Qatar? Does he have divided loyalities? Since Jews have to deal with that crap a;; the time so should he.
Well of course he has divided loyalities since he is a muslim. Every muslim should be asked for the position on imposing sharia law and converting this country to a muslim theorcracy. They’ll lie but get the lie on the record.
How anyone can be proHamas and be considered a viable candidate for anything is beyond me. He is also proIranian. Despicable,
Absolutely! Any Native born Citizen who sought out or affirmatively accepted foreign Citizenship and/or naturalized Citizens who didn’t renounce (or attempt on record if former Nation disallows renunciation) is fair game for questioning regarding dual loyalties precisely b/c they have dual Citizenship. Those who renounced, never actively sought or refused to affirmatively accept foreign Citizenship don’t have the same issues re potentially divided loyalty b/c they’ve not demonstrated even tentative official steps to create them on the record.
That said, this guy was born in Detroit to Egyptian immigrant Parents. We don’t have ‘test acts’ but so long as we’re applying the questions about religious doctrine and whether the candidate supports his religious viewpoints incorporated into law, posing it equally to every candidate of each religion + atheists/agnostics then I think that’s fair game as well.
His wife’s family seems to have come from India, so presumably this property they own is in India.
I can’t find any information on where she was born, but her education was totally in the USA, so either she was born here or was brought as a small child.
He may be more qualified than Biden’s
.
Enough of these damn Muslims in our politics
Dr. El-Sayed education:
El-Sayed received a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Michigan Medical School, where he completed two years of medical school
***
] As a second-year medical student, he received a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oriel College, Oxford, where he completed a PhD in public health
****
In 2014, he completed a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
His interest was public health and epidemiology not clinical medicine. Pretty weak attack splitting hair over physician vs doctor.
His politics are so anti-American, he should be attacked on that. Unfortunately those attacks would be a positive in a Michigan election.
How did he qualify for a full scholarship to medical school? That school has a requirement for financial need to grant such a scholarship and both his father and step-mother are engineers while his mom is a nurse practitioner.
Who says that’s the only kind of scholarship the school gives? And for that matter, who says the scholarship came from the school?
Part of puzzle solved:
Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship awarded in 2012 to pursue a PhD in Epidemiology and an MD in Medicine at Columbia University.
A lying, greasy, dishonest, Jew-hating and Christian-hating Islamofascist and Muslim supremacist fabulist and subversive.
Clearly qualified for the Democrat ticket
I’ve seen various claims that Michigan has a law prohibiting a person from calling himself a physician without a license to practice, but if so such a law is unconstitutional. A state can prohibit practicing without a license, but so long as a person is not actually practicing medicine, the first amendment protects his right to call himself whatever he likes.
E.g., terrorist’s useful idiot.
Part of puzzle solved:
Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship awarded in 2012 to pursue a PhD in Epidemiology and an MD in Medicine at Columbia University.
CDC needs to develop a virus/vaccine that is Soros DNA specific.
Perhaps with a Bill Gates/Reid Hoffman/Klaus Schwab variant.
I remember when I told the IRS I couldn’t file because getting all those forms together is a thing. If he filed income taxes for last year, he had to have gotten those forms together a long time ago. The only conclusion is that he’s a lying piece of shit. Oh, I guess that’s been said.
He’s a doctor to the same extent than Sen. Warren is a native American.
Nope. He’s a genuine doctor of medicine, he’s got the degree, he just doesn’t practice medicine, so he doesn’t need a license. That arguably means he should not have used the term “physician”.
The Democrotch Party: Pushing the limits of sanity every day and every way.
Yet another foreigner with a funny sounding name, and a Muslim at that, one step away from becoming a Senator because foolish Americans like Milhouse considers these people to true-blooded Americans.
At some point, Americans intolerance for this nonsense will boil over. But not yet, I suppose.
Blood has nothing to do with it. He is American, just as American as you, or as the President. The constitution says so, and that is what defines who is American.
And his name is no funnier than yours or the President’s. You are an outright fucking racist, and there is no room for your kind in civilized society.
Nobody is puzzled by this Muzzi-Dem would-be politician’s lying. For Dems in politics or trying to get in, willingness to lie is a job qualification.
Dr. Taqiyya is in da house!!