“Cars are the modern-day cigarette,” Democrat Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed suggests in a newly-resurfaced video he made - in Motor City, of all places.
“One person made an argument to me that I probably agree with: ‘Cars are the modern-day cigarette,’” the then-director of the Detroit Health Departments said in the 2016 speech.
“They’re just like this, like - why do we do it this way?” El-Sayed asked.
“Cars are a big deal in Detroit, whether or not you like them,” El-Sayed conceded.
El-Sayed’s remark is just one of a series of past comments criticizing American icons ranging from American football to Fourth of July fireworks that are being brought to light.
And, it wasn’t the only time El-Sayed characterized cars as carcinogenic. Three years later, for example, El-Sayed authored a column in The Guardian promoting the Green New Deal. In it, he accused Detroit’s auto industry of poisoning babies:
“As a doctor, I realize the forces that cause climate change are the same forces (sic) that poisoned the lungs of babies in Detroit.”
The Green New Deal, he said, “can lift communities like Detroit out of poverty – and by eliminating the emissions that drive climate change, it can address the local consequences of those emissions for children.”
The auto industry supports more than a million jobs, including some of the highest-paying jobs, the Detroit Chamber explains:
“Today, the state’s signature auto industry remains strong, with more than 1.2 million jobs tied to the industry, according to MichAuto, an arm of the Detroit Regional Chamber. And these are some of the bestpaying jobs in the marketplace, with average compensation in the industry of $71,547.”
Ironically, while its stated mission is to support the people who depend on those jobs, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has endorsed El-Sayed’s Senate candidacy.
In 2016, Abdul El-Sayed told a group in Boston, "Cars are the modern-day cigarette," and admitted they are "a big deal in Detroit": pic.twitter.com/I8PCc3VADG
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) September 22, 2026
