Funny how it works. A man named Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed wins a Democratic primary in Michigan, and within about forty-five seconds the entire Republican establishment starts speaking in tongues. Trump calls Democratic candidates “jihadists.” The Senate Republican Conference posts that “an alliance of communists and Islamists is taking control of the Democrat party.” The National Republican Senatorial Committee makes a point of rolling out his full name, every syllable, like they’re reading a warrant. And Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee for Senate, announces that he never thought he’d run against “someone who believes America deserved 9/11.”
Except El-Sayed never said that. A Twitch streamer named Hasan Piker said it, then apologized. Different guy. Different platform. Different everything. But Rogers didn’t let that stop him, because why would he? The truth was never the point.
Kenneth C. Zirkel (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia CommonsRogers also claimed he “spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice.” He served in the military in the 1980s. He was in Congress after 9/11. You do the math on that one. But sure, Mike, you were right there in the caves of Tora Bora. We believe you.
Ask yourself who benefits from all this. You’ve got a Senate seat opening up in Michigan. You’ve got a candidate who talks about clean air, clean water, healthcare families can afford. You’ve got an economy that the people in charge have run into the ground. You’ve got a war the American people never asked for. And instead of debating any of that, the GOP machine wants you staring at a name with too many syllables, sweating about sharia law coming to Dearborn. El-Sayed said it himself: “They’re going to use Islamophobia because their ideas are tired, their economy sucks. They’re taking us to a war we shouldn’t fight.”
He’s right, and the establishment knows he’s right, which is why they’re panicking. Tim Scott, a man who once gave a whole rebuttal to a State of the Union about American opportunity, put out a statement claiming El-Sayed supports “terrorist organizations.” No evidence. No specifics. Just the word “terrorist” next to an Arabic name and a prayer that you’re too scared to ask follow-up questions.
Hudson Institute (BY) via wikimediaThen there’s JD Vance, who used an anti-fraud event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to float the idea that El-Sayed could be president “in three years.” “We don’t want the next administration,” Vance said. “You’re going to have President el Sayed in three years.” He said this hours after the primary was called. The vice president of the United States, standing in a government building, using your tax dollars to campaign against a man who just won a primary in Michigan. Not because of anything El-Sayed has done in office. Because of his name. Because of his faith. Because the playbook says that’s enough.
And Trump? He called Democratic candidates “jihadists” and said Somalis in this country “are not smart.” That’s the president of the United States, talking about American citizens like they’re livestock. Not a dog whistle. A foghorn.
Here’s what I know. Every time the establishment wants to keep the little guy from looking at his empty wallet, they hand him somebody to fear. Somebody who prays differently. Somebody whose name sounds different on television. And while you’re busy being afraid, they pass the spending bill, they ship the jobs overseas, they send your kids to fight a war you can’t find on a map. El-Sayed said Michiganders are “less interested in how you pray than what you pray for.” That’s the most dangerous thing a politician can say to the swamp, because the moment people stop being afraid of each other, they start asking questions about who’s really robbing them blind.
Daniel Torok (Public domain) via Wikimedia CommonsThat’s what this is about. It was always what this is about.
Talking Points Memo — GOP Immediately Turns the Islamophobia Dial All the Way Up
The New York Times — Trump Stokes Islamophobia by Calling Democratic Candidates ‘Jihadists’