El-Sayed grills reporter for asking about ‘flip-flopping’ on Harris

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed grilled a reporter for saying some people might think he “flip-flopped” on his opinion about former Vice President Kamala Harris after the pair appeared together at a campaign event.

In a press conference , a reporter mentioned to El-Sayed his previous endorsement of an “uncommitted vote” in the 2024 presidential primary election and his campaign event Tuesday with Harris, asking, “Do you see this as a possibility that it might backfire for you among the Arab American vote?”

“Can you explain what uncommitted was? What was it about?” El-Sayed asked.

The reporter responded that it concerned the administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.

The heated exchange continued with El-Sayed repeatedly asking the reporter about who the Democratic candidate was at the time when he endorsed voting “uncommitted.” At the time, El-Sayed advocated for the uncommitted vote in the Democratic primary before endorsing Harris in the general election, according to Politifact .

“Yes, so we were uncommitted to President Biden. And then he did what? What did he do? What did he do? You’re asking a question based on false premises, so I’m just getting you to clarify your premise. What did he do?” El-Sayed asked. “He dropped out of the race, correct? And then there was a new person running for president, right? So factually, is the premise you’re basing this question on actually a real premise? Thank you. Next question.”

The Uncommitted National Movement stated it would not endorse Harris after Biden dropped out during the 2024 general election but advocated that supporters “vote against” President Trump. In Michigan, the movement garnered just over 100,000 votes in the Democratic primary and around 33,000 votes in the GOP primary.

El-Sayed is running against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

Harris endorsed El-Sayed last month, saying he “understands that the power is with the people, and that the stakes couldn’t be higher in this election.”

In a statement to The Hill’s broadcast partner, NewsNation, El-Sayed said he hopes to broaden his coalition to include voters who supported Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond immediately to The Hill’s request for comment.