New Scrutiny Surrounds Abdul El-Sayed Over Police Defunding Comments

Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left candidate for the Michigan Senate, is facing renewed scrutiny after audio recordings from 2020 emerged, featuring his explicit support for defunding the police.

In earlier interviews, El-Sayed had denied advocating for defunding law enforcement, suggesting that past social media posts were misrepresented. However, the recordings tell a different story.

During a June 2020 interview, he stated that he believed funding for police should be diminished in favor of investing more tax dollars into schools, mental health services, and anti-poverty initiatives.

“We’re in an era where public discussions often fit into 280 characters, which isn’t ideal,” he said. “I’m not saying, ‘Defund the police.’ I’m just pointing out what needs to happen. We ought to focus on providing clarity rather than hiding behind hashtags,” he added.

El-Sayed elaborated that “defunding the police means reducing investment in the mechanisms that lead to imprisonment and violence, while reallocating those resources to educational and empowering tools to combat systemic poverty in affected communities.”

These comments emerged around the time when the “defund the police” movement was gaining traction following the death of George Floyd. Now, as El-Sayed campaigns for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, his historical stance has come under renewed examination.

A recent Mitchell Research poll indicated that El-Sayed is currently leading the Democratic primary with about 28% support, followed by Representative Haley Stevens with 18%, and State Senator Mallory McMorrow at 17%. However, McMorrow had suspended her campaign earlier this month, reducing it to a two-candidate race.

El-Sayed is set to debate Stevens ahead of the August primary, with the victor anticipated to face Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate and former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, in the upcoming November election.

Just last week, when asked if he still stands by his earlier comments on police funding, El-Sayed refrained from providing a straightforward answer. He instead highlighted his leadership role in Wayne County’s Department of Health and Veterans Affairs and insisted that voters should focus on his recent actions rather than statements made in 2020.

In a prior interview, he remarked, “Let me be clear: I never actually called for defunding. My intention was to ensure everyone grasped the conversation.”

Despite his later disclaimers, El-Sayed had expressed support for reducing police budgets multiple times on social media, including posts that he later deleted, arguing that police departments are excessively funded compared to other essential public services.

“Most major cities in the United States allocate too much to police departments to manage poverty and not enough to public schools, health services, recreation, and housing aimed at addressing poverty. That’s what the #Defund movement advocates for,” he stated in posts that are no longer visible.

Additionally, he was quoted saying, “The police have become a standing army deployed against their own communities.”