Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said Wednesday she still supports Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, but she is calling on him to publicly denounce two campaign ads she described as hateful, including one she says blames Jews for the cost of groceries.
Speaking on CNN’s “The Source,” Stevens said El-Sayed is in “a very strong position to denounce the hateful ads that have hurt people.” She pointed to two specific ads: one she said features Tucker Carlson, whom she called “a racist, anti-black, white [supremacist] apologist,” and another she said blames Jews for high grocery and health care costs.
“Abdul — and I fully believe he can do this — can denounce Tucker Carlson and denounce antisemitic hate, things that make, particularly, minority communities feel less safe and actually make them less safe,” Stevens said.
Stevens argued the ads carry real consequences for Michigan communities. “When, for instance, you blame Jews for the cost of groceries being too high or healthcare not being affordable, that’s dangerous for Jews,” she said. “When you’re somehow propping up Tucker Carlson, that makes a whole host of people in our black community feel less safe and targeted.”
She said she believes El-Sayed has the capacity to act. “I know that he has it in him to denounce these two ads, to take them down,” Stevens said.
Stevens framed her comments as an appeal to her own political coalition in Michigan. “I want to encourage this campaign to shut out the hate and to call it out and to make people who were in my coalition, right? Make them feel comfortable about coming to the polls, right?” she said.
She closed by reiterating her confidence in the nominee. “I know our candidate can do the right thing here. I know that we can disavow blaming Jews for the cost of groceries being high. And I know that we can disavow Tucker Carlson,” Stevens said. “I believe he can do that and will do that.”
