El-Sayed on Carlson praise: MAGA ‘eating itself’

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) said President Trump’s MAGA movement is “eating itself” after conservative commentator Tucker Carlson praised the progressive while tearing into his GOP opponent , former Rep. Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed was asked Monday about Carlson’s comments on the race earlier this month, when the former Fox News host said he “wouldn’t vote for Mike Rogers at gunpoint” and propped up El-Sayed’s “Trumpian” campaign.

“Look, Tucker and I don’t agree on much, but we definitely agree on what he just said,” the Senate hopeful said in an appearance on CNN’s “OutFront” with host Erin Burnett. “I think what you’re seeing here is MAGA eating itself.”

He argued that some supporters of Trump’s “ America First ” movement were turning against Republicans who they believe are abandoning its principles, particularly on foreign policy as the U.S.’s unpopular war in Iran nears the seven-month mark.

“Those who believe in the ideas — the idea that we should have America first, that we shouldn’t go to wars that we shouldn’t be fighting, those who believe in just basic principles,” the progressive added.

El-Sayed, who narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens (Mich.) in the Democratic primary for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D), accused Rogers of shifting his positions to remain aligned with Trump.

“Folks are turning on people like Mike Rogers because Mike Rogers was a neocon, and then he decried Donald Trump when Donald Trump came to power,” he continued. “Now, he’s willing to do whatever Donald Trump tells him to do, so long as Donald Trump is happy with him.”

The former GOP lawmaker, who is endorsed by Trump, recently called for a swift end to the U.S. war in Iran after previously backing the president’s handling of the conflict. His campaign cited the economic impact of the war, including surging fuel prices tied to Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

El-Sayed stressed that he does not believe Carlson, a former Trump ally , was making a formal endorsement of his campaign, but rather a “nonendorsement for Mike Rogers” or “an anti-endorsement” against his GOP opponent.

The progressive added that Carlson’s words were “less about me. It’s more about Mike Rogers, and it’s more about recognizing that I am going to be principled — whatever it takes.”

El-Sayed and Rogers will face off in November for the Senate seat, which the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates as a “toss-up.”