Leaked Audio Shows Michigan Senate Hopeful Abdul El-Sayed Avoided Comment on Khamenei Death Due to Dearborn Voters

Leaked Audio Reveals Controversy Over Michigan Senate Candidate's Approach to Khamenei Killing

LANSING — Leaked audio from an internal campaign strategy call has sparked controversy over how Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed plans to handle questions about the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The audio, obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, shows El-Sayed telling his communications team that he does not want to make a public statement about the assassination because "there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad" about the death.

Campaign Strategizing on Messaging

During a conference call with his campaign staff on March 1, El-Sayed discussed how to respond to reporters about Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike the previous day, February 28.

"I also want to remind you guys that there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today. So, like, I just don't want to comment on Khamenei at all. Like, I don't think it's worth even touching that," El-Sayed told his team, according to the recording.

The candidate also outlined his approach if reporters pressed him for a position on the killing:

"I'm just gonna go straight to pedophilia, frankly," El-Sayed said. "I'll just be like, 'Pedophile president decides that he doesn't like the front page news, so he decides to take us into another war.'"

The diversion tactic involves redirecting questions to Donald Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein rather than addressing Khamenei's death directly.

Dearborn Context

El-Sayed's comments come in the context of the 2026 Michigan Senate primary. Dearborn, Michigan, has the largest Muslim population per capita of any city in the country and became the nation's first Arab-majority city in 2023. Though heavily Democratic, Dearborn gave a plurality of its 2024 vote to President Donald Trump.

El-Sayed's campaign has faced scrutiny for his planned rallies with controversial figures, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who has promoted terrorist groups and has stated the United States "deserved 9/11." Piker is scheduled to appear with El-Sayed at rallies at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University on April 7.

Previous Controversy Over Synagogue Attack

This is not the first time El-Sayed's campaign messaging has drawn criticism. Earlier in the month, after a Dearborn Heights resident who immigrated from Lebanon attacked a synagogue and preschool in West Bloomfield, Michigan, El-Sayed released a statement condemning the attack but also noted that the perpetrator had "lost family, including two children, in an airstrike in Lebanon last week."

The attacker's brother was identified as a Hezbollah commander. El-Sayed stated: "We can and must condemn the attack on Temple Israel, and we can and must condemn the violence 6,000 miles away."

Campaign lawyers later told the Free Beacon that the audio recording was obtained without the campaign's permission, stating: "The campaign is considering its legal options against the individual in question."

Michigan Senate Race Context

El-Sayed is one of three major candidates in the hotly contested primary for Michigan's open Senate seat. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who also criticized the U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran when it began, has positioned herself as a moderate alternative. Rep. Haley Stevens, the more moderate candidate, stated that "Iran's state sponsorship of terror across the globe has led to chaos and unchecked violence" while calling for congressional checks on presidential military power.

The leaked audio adds another layer of controversy to an already competitive race that will determine Michigan's next U.S. Senator in the August 2026 primary.

Source

Sources: Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, Fox News