El-Sayed and Rogers spar over Iran and Trump, and toss insults, in Michigan Senate debate

In Thursday's Michigan Senate debate, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed called his opponent "weak," "cowardly" and a "sock puppet for the Trump administration." Republican Mike Rogers called his opponent a "glitchy AI chatbot" who is running a "con" and will "say anything to win."

After the only commercial break, debate moderator Rick Albin of WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids said the two men were arguing even when they were off-air. At various points, Albin pleaded with the candidates to "work with me" and said: "I appreciate your passion, but please, let's try to keep this orderly."

Most polls show a razor-thin race between the two candidates, who are competing to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The race could be pivotal in determining which party wins control of the Senate.

On the Iran war, Rogers said "this would be the time to wrap it up." He also argued "we need to end" the trade dispute with Canada by striking a deal with the U.S.' northern neighbor, saying he spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick "about getting the deal done."

But El-Sayed pushed Rogers on the Trump administration's trade and Iran policies, accusing him of running at the president's behest and being unwilling to stand up to Mr. Trump.

Asked if the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration has gone too far, Rogers said the intense operations in Minnesota earlier this year were "probably not appropriate."

El-Sayed — who has called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished — was asked whether an undocumented immigrant who committed a violent crime should be deported. He answered: "Yes, but you don't have to do that by violating the whole Constitution."

Foreign policy animated much of the debate. El-Sayed frequently criticized the Iran war and cast Rogers as a hawk who "thinks there's a war for everything." El-Sayed said he supports a diplomatic solution on Iran, pointing to the Obama-era deal that limited Iran's uranium enrichment, an agreement that Mr. Trump ended during his first term.

El-Sayed is a vehement critic of the Israeli government over its conduct during its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and opposes U.S. military assistance to Israel. Asked by the moderator whether he views Iran or Israel as a bigger threat, El-Sayed called it a "ridiculous hypothetical," arguing Israel spurred the U.S. to enter the war with Iran and saying "both of them have proven dangerous in their own way."

Rogers pressed El-Sayed for not putting out a statement marking three years since Hamas' deadly Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, alleging that his opponent "could not bring himself to even acknowledge the pain, the terrorism, the rape, the murders." El-Sayed said he has condemned the attack but "didn't turn it into political theater like you just did." He later told reporters after the debate that he felt whatever he had said about the terror attack would be scrutinized and politicized.

Both candidates pressed each other on campaign donations and questioned each other's finances, with El-Sayed dinging Rogers over a waterfront home that he owns in Florida and Rogers bringing up El-Sayed's wife's rental property in the United Arab Emirates.

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