El-Sayed Questions Flint Residents’ Attachment to Their City

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from Michigan, raised eyebrows during a 2016 event at Boston University when he questioned why anyone would want to live in Flint, Michigan, a city predominantly inhabited by Black residents. The former health director of Detroit made these remarks while addressing a query about relocating residents in light of Flint’s water crisis in 2014, which resulted in lead contamination. Conservative journalist Chuck Ross first highlighted these comments.

During the health policy symposium, El-Sayed shared anecdotes about the deep connection Flint residents have with their city.

“You talk to folks in Flint, they love Flint, right, and you’re like, ‘What the—why?’” he stated.

The progressive candidate suggested that the attachment to Flint stems from the sense of home it provides, drawing a parallel to his own decision to move to Detroit. He noted that his peers had raised eyebrows at his relocation from Columbia University in New York.

“To Detroit of all places,” he recalled hearing. “If you’re going to Cali, I get it, but Detroit? Their winters are worse than ours. There’s nothing there.”

El-Sayed, who has a background in an affluent Detroit suburb and has attended notable institutions like the University of Michigan, Columbia, and Oxford, expressed that his move from New York to Detroit had “ruined” his family’s life.

His comments emerge amid criticism of his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, for purchasing a home in Florida after leaving Congress. El-Sayed’s financial disclosures reveal that he and his wife also own property in India and the UAE, while he has criticized Rogers for his real estate decisions.

This incident also follows a 2020 documentary clip where El-Sayed expressed disdain for Mackinac Island, which hosts the governor’s summer residence. He reiterated his feelings after the clip gained attention, disputing claims that it was the “most American place” in Michigan due to its ban on cars.

Rogers took the opportunity to respond on social media, stating, “There’s no place like Mackinac,” accompanied by a heart emoji.

These resurfaced comments come as El-Sayed prepares for his first general-election debate against Rogers, a contest critical for potential Senate control, while he continues to find support among Black voters. Notably, Flint, the birthplace of General Motors, has experienced a significant population decline of 36 percent since 2000.