Obama Ally Urges Jewish Support for El-sayed as Vance Faces Trump Remark
WHO:
Fox News - Actor Mandy Patinkin urged Jewish voters to support Abdul El-Sayed in social media videos.
Fox News - Rally attendees quoted included Emily Walker, a teacher at Cass Technical High School; Dave; publicist Kiana Montgomery; Jamal Jenkins; and Bloomfield Hills resident Mohammed.
Fox News - Manhattan Institute Vice President Jesse Arm said Lovett had backed a Maine Senate candidate with a Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest, apparently referring to Graham Platner, who suspended his campaign after a sexual-assault allegation that he denied.
Fox News - Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter and co-host of “Pod Save America,” urged Jewish voters in Michigan to support Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee.
Fox News - The Michigan Senate race is between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
Fox News - Manhattan Institute Vice President Jesse Arm, a pollster and Michigan native, criticized Lovett’s remarks and El-Sayed’s response to an attack on Temple Israel.
Fox News - Fox News said it contacted the Rogers and El-Sayed campaigns and the Republican National Committee but had not received immediate replies.
Mediaite - Vice President JD Vance was asked about President Trump’s characterization of El-Sayed as a “jihadist.” Vance said El-Sayed had “weird friends” and “said a lot of crazy stuff,” while adding, “I don’t know what’s in the guy’s heart.”
Newsweek - Some Arab Americans who supported Trump in 2024 now view El-Sayed as the “America First” choice against Rogers.
WHAT:
Fox News - El-Sayed’s platform includes Medicare-for-All, raising the federal minimum wage, expanding social safety-net initiatives, and supporting guaranteed-income programs that provide financial assistance without strings attached.
Fox News - Emily Walker said El-Sayed resonates because he is “a person of color” and “10 toes down,” and praised his community outreach and medical background.
Fox News - Kiana Montgomery said El-Sayed’s message addresses education, healthcare, and lowering costs.
Fox News - Jamal Jenkins said voters want action on affordability, corporate profits, and the wealth gap.
Fox News - Mohammed said El-Sayed offered a better fit by focusing on Michigan residents rather than “big pharma and PACs.”
Fox News - Arm said El-Sayed had rationalized the attack on Temple Israel and quoted him as saying, “hurt people, hurt people.”
Fox News - Arm’s criticism of Lovett referenced Graham Platner’s campaign suspension in July.
Fox News - Lovett said Jewish Michiganders had a “moral obligation” to support El-Sayed, arguing that doing so would help protect them from antisemitism and rising hatred.
Fox News - Lovett contrasted debate within the Democratic Party about Israel, military aid to Israel, and antisemitism on the left—which he called real—with what he described as right-wing politics based on “dominance and hatreds and othering.”
Fox News - Lovett said right-wing targeting of Muslims, transgender people, immigrants, and Haitians could extend to Jews, and argued that a Democratic Senate would check Trump.
Fox News - Arm called Lovett a “bitterly partisan hack” and said his argument was “both immoral and idiotic.” Arm also accused El-Sayed of rationalizing an attack targeting children at a synagogue preschool.
Mediaite - Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member” at a campaign rally and said, “We’re not gonna let that happen.” Vance did not directly call El-Sayed a jihadist.
Mediaite - El-Sayed told supporters after Trump’s remarks: “I’m not here to talk about me. This whole thing is about you.”
WHERE:
Fox News - El-Sayed held a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School in Detroit.
Fox News - El-Sayed spoke at the state Democratic nominating convention in Lansing, Michigan.
Mediaite - Vance spoke with reporters at Joint Base Andrews before traveling to Howell, Michigan, to campaign for Rogers; Trump’s rally was in Port Huron, Michigan.
Fox News - Temple Israel is a synagogue in suburban Detroit.
WHEN:
Fox News - Barack Obama appeared with El-Sayed at the Detroit rally on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
Fox News - Lovett made his remarks on an episode of “Pod Save America” described as Tuesday’s episode.
Mediaite - Vance was questioned on Tuesday; Trump’s Port Huron rally took place on Sunday night.
WHY:
Fox News - Rallygoers said they supported El-Sayed because of concerns about affordability, healthcare, education, and the cost of living.
Fox News - Lovett said Jewish voters could accept that El-Sayed might not be “a reliable vote against Israel,” arguing that the priority was preventing what he called a “continued slide to this hateful authoritarian right.”
Fox News - Lovett said Jewish voters should support El-Sayed because a society that rewards politics based on hatred would make Jews less safe.
Mediaite - Vance criticized El-Sayed’s associations and said some Democrats align with people who justify violence against the United States.
HOW:
Mediaite - Vance answered reporters’ question during a brief gaggle at Joint Base Andrews and was heading to Michigan to campaign for Rogers.
Fox News - Lovett made his appeal through the “Pod Save America” podcast, contrasting possible political futures and calling for a Democratic Senate as a check on Trump.
(UPDATED October 29, 2026 00:00 UTC)
Actor Mandy Patinkin and former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett urged Jewish voters in Michigan to support Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, arguing that a Democratic Senate could check President Trump and that politics rooted in hatred would put Jews at risk. El-Sayed’s platform includes Medicare-for-All, a higher federal minimum wage, expanded social programs, and guaranteed-income payments, while rallygoers cited affordability, healthcare, education, and his community outreach as reasons for backing him. Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist,” Vice President JD Vance criticized his associations without endorsing that label, and Manhattan Institute vice president Jesse Arm condemned Lovett’s appeal and accused El-Sayed of rationalizing the attack on suburban Detroit’s Temple Israel.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 23:02 UTC)
Jon Lovett urged Jewish voters in Michigan to support Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, arguing on his podcast that backing him could help protect against antisemitism and a right-wing politics he described as fueled by hatred. Manhattan Institute Vice President Jesse Arm called Lovett’s argument immoral and criticized El-Sayed’s response to the attack on Temple Israel, while also faulting Lovett for previously backing Maine candidate Graham Platner, who suspended his campaign after a sexual-assault allegation he denied. President Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist” at a Michigan rally, and Vice President JD Vance criticized El-Sayed’s associations but said he did not know what was in his heart.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 22:05 UTC)
Jon Lovett urged Jewish voters in Michigan to support Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, arguing that a Democratic Senate would check President Trump and that politics built on hatred could put Jews at risk. Manhattan Institute vice president Jesse Arm denounced Lovett’s appeal and accused El-Sayed of rationalizing the attack on Temple Israel, a synagogue in suburban Detroit. Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member,” while Vice President JD Vance said El-Sayed had “weird friends” and had “said a lot of crazy stuff,” but added, “I don’t know what’s in the guy’s heart.”