Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidestepped questions from CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday after the host confronted him over past remarks suggesting "a lot of people" in Dearborn, Michigan, were saddened by the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tapper pointed to audio first highlighted by The Washington Free Beacon from an event held shortly after Khamenei's death during the U.S.-Iran conflict. In the recording, El-Sayed said there were "a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad."
"I thought that quote was interesting, because the ayatollah has killed tens of thousands of innocent Iranians, not to mention the proxies that Iran has funded that have killed innocent civilians all over the Middle East," Tapper said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"Why were you worried about offending people who support the ayatollah?"
El-Sayed, a Muslim progressive vying to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., declined to directly answer the question, instead criticizing Tapper for revisiting his past remarks rather than focusing on the U.S.-Iran conflict and its impact on Michigan.
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https://www.foxnews.com/media/michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-dodges-when-pressed-controversial-remarks-about-death-khameini
