It's become commonplace for the elitist media to platform radical left-wing Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, and give him a pass on most, if not all, of his most controversial stances, past and present. On CNN's The Source on Monday, host Kaitlan Collins mostly followed that script, and never followed up when she did stray and ask a tougher question.
Collins led into the interview by playing a couple of dueling clips from Vance and El-Sayed attacking each other.
ABDUL EL-SAYED CLIP: So, if you're starting a trade war with Canada, it's because you're the a--hole. I think Michigan is going to remind JD Vance why he should send his ass back to Ohio at the end of this day.
Disrespectful garbage from El-Sayed, but according to Collins, not as bad as what Vance would say, as she played an edited clip.
COLLINS: Now, when Vice President Vance landed in the state [Michigan], in his comments, he went even further.
VANCE CLIP: Remember that the same guy who defends literal terrorism is maybe not going to have your best interest at heart, when he gets to Washington, D.C.
There's something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America.
But whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife's name the hell out of your mouth because she's way out of your league.
Vance's language was tame compared to El-Sayed, despite claims from Collins, who never explained what Vance was talking about with regards to his wife. According to Fox News, Vance's remark was in response to what critics say was a post that, "appeared to take aim at Usha Vance’s Indian heritage."
That might have been useful information for the viewers, and a good question for El-Sayed. But Collins asked her first question, and never mentioned Vance's wife.
COLLINS: Do you want to respond to what the Vice President said today, saying that there is something that is quote, "Very, very evil" about you?
EL-SAYED: Well, let me tell you what's evil. Evil is the idea of starting wars when there's peace.
He would go on to mention gas prices, health care, the trade war with Canada, and the high price of having a kid play baseball, and never address the question asked to him. Collins did not press him, but did ask about his original response to an attack on a Michigan synagogue in March, and his recent apology for those remarks.
COLLINS: At the time you condemned the attack, but said violence is a cycle, unquote. Hurt people hurt people. You actually apologized for those comments over the weekend. Why now?
EL-SAYED: Because I have had the opportunity to listen to folks, to learn how it hit them. My goal wasn't to cause anybody pain at all. I grew up in the community in which Temple Israel sits. I got to go to bar and bat mitzvahs at Temple Israel. I'm grateful for the opportunity I got to spend with my Jewish sisters and brothers.
And as I've traveled the state, I've heard that that comment caused a lot of pain, and it was not my intention to cause any pain at all. But I'm big enough to apologize when I make mistakes. I understand that it's not what people wanted to hear at the time.
Not surprisingly, El-Sayed was allowed to finish his answer by turning to the trade war with Canada. Collins never asked about his Republican opponent Mike Rogers' calling it a "sham apology," or El-Sayed's recent refusal to cut ties with radical leftist streamer Hasan Piker, whose recent anti-Jewish remark was condemned by Democrat House Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Collins would continue on the trade war issue, before turning to data centers. But her final question went back to his remarks about Vance's wife, asking, " The Vice President himself called you out today for what you said about his wife, Usha Vance, someone that you've now invoked a couple of times. Do you believe that spouses, political spouses, people who aren't running for office, should be off-limits?
You can see El-Sayed's answer, where he was allowed to go on uninterrupted for over a minute and half, in the video below.
Collins never confronted El-Sayed for making vulgar remarks in April, about Usha Vance's "brown children", or for saying she dreads having to sleep with the VP. She also never asked about a CBS News story from earlier that day, noting his deleted tweets from 2020, calling for the same outrage over the COVID death toll, as we saw for the 9/11 count. No real surprise, that's Collins and this is CNN!
