John Fetterman calls himself ‘Senator Shrek’ after progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed threatens to ‘put one ogre on a pike’
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman fired back after Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed threatened to “put one ogre on a pike,” joking that he would rather be known as “Senator Shrek” than another progressive challenger.
John Fetterman calls out Abdul El-Sayed’s comments
According to a Politico report, El-Sayed made the remarks during a Zoom call with donors while discussing how he would strengthen the progressive movement if elected to the Senate. The comments quickly drew widespread attention and criticism.
“If I win … well, y’all came at me, so now I get to come at you — and, you know, primarying people like John Fetterman, I have no problem to do that,” El-Sayed said, according to audio of the call.
“Ideally you put one ogre on a pike and then everyone else gets the message and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different,” he added.
Fetterman responded with a pointed jab of his own.
“I pick being Senator Shrek over being the Pontiac Platner any day,” he told Politico, referring to former progressive Senate candidate Graham Platner, who called off his campaign amid a sexual assault scandal.
‘Speaking metaphorically’
Politico reported that an El-Sayed campaign spokesperson pointed to an earlier statement saying the candidate had been “speaking metaphorically” about backing a primary challenge against Fetterman. The outlet noted that Fetterman and El-Sayed have previously clashed over support for Israel.
The remarks also drew condemnation from Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan, who supported El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens.
“Violent, vulgar threats have no place in a democratic electoral contest. With political violence on the rise, we need to be doing everything we can to lower the temperature — not raise it. It’s the American people who suffer most when we degrade the political process this way,” Scholten said.
Abdul El-Sayed’s primary victory
El-Sayed narrowly defeated Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary by one point and will face Republican Mike Rogers in November.
The closely watched race is expected to play a key role in determining Senate control, with El-Sayed now facing the challenge of unifying a divided Democratic coalition after a razor-thin primary victory.