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Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, recently embraced the “capitalist” label and pushed back against being called socialist, but unearthed social media posts contradict that narrative.
Recently unearthed social media posts show the Detroit Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapter applauding his views on climate advocacy, going so far as to call him a “comrade” in its efforts.
“Welcome to the team comrade,” the group’s Detroit chapter wrote in a post in 2019 alongside a picture of El-Sayed, then a recent candidate for Michigan governor.
Shortly after El-Sayed endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in his presidential bid, the account again praised his support.
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“Thank you to our friend and ally Abdul El-Sayed for endorsing Bernie Sanders. Our movement is unstoppable,” the group wrote.
Although the DSA has not officially endorsed El-Sayed in his Senate bid or affirmed his platform, the DSA’s local support for him may raise questions of increased overlap between his platform and the DSA’s official stances.
In an interview with The New York Times, El-Sayed described his views on capitalism.
“Capitalism is about leveraging the laws of supply and demand to efficiently allocate capital expenditure to maximize value. When capitalism works, it’s because you have free entry and exit into markets,” El-Sayed said.
“So if you believe in capitalism, you have to believe in government regulation to protect markets. In fact, right now, we have exactly the opposite. You don’t have to be a socialist to believe that you should be taxing billionaires their wealth,” he continued. “In fact, if you are a capitalist, you should believe in that. So, I’m a capitalist who just knows about capitalism. I have a bad habit of reading; I’m so sorry.”
Among other stances, El-Sayed has championed policies like Medicare for All, increasing taxes on the country’s top earners and implementing more stringent penalties on businesses that, in his view, abuse natural resources like water supply and air quality.
In his 2018 campaign for governor, El-Sayed espoused many of the same views, garnering support from the DSA — especially for his platform on climate.
At one point, El-Sayed joined in calls to seize plants owned by General Motors after the company announced it would cut about 14,000 jobs from sites across the country.
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“Today, Abdul El-Sayed signed onto our bold demand to seize abandoned [General Motors] plants and convert them into green, public use. This is the courage and vision we need from our leaders to make the Green New Deal a reality. Thank you, Dr. El-Sayed! Onward!” The group wrote.
El-Sayed was among 140 co-signers for the plan, including figures like Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Natasha Fernández-Silber, the co-chair of the Detroit DSA.
“These facilities are not just the ‘property’ of a corporation. They belong to the workers who have contributed their labor, and the taxpayers who have provided enormous tax breaks, public subsidies and bailouts to GM,” the resolution read.
Between 2017 and 2020, the Michigan Democrat spoke at six events held by Democratic Socialists of America chapters, including a 2019 fundraiser where he served as the keynote speaker. Additionally, DSA officials told Politico in July that they were mobilizing resources to help El-Sayed win his Democratic primary election.
“I’m not technically or practically DSA,” El-Sayed told the Wall Street Journal in July.
Socialist organizers, however, have called him “a longtime friend of Detroit DSA.”
“Our annual fundraiser is going to be [fire] this year. Chaired by the one and only Rashida Tlaib, with guest speaker Abdul El-Sayed,” another post reads.
“Our annual Douglas-Debs Dinner is THIS SATURDAY! The one and only Rashida Tlaib will give the keynote, with special guest speaker Abdul El-Sayed. Don’t miss out. Get your tickets today!” another stated.
For its own part, the national platform for the DSA goes well beyond the proposals that El-Sayed has made a part of his Senate bid.
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Among other positions, the group has championed abolishing the U.S. Senate, establishing public ownership of the country’s largest corporations and defunding the Department of Defense — stances that El-Sayed has not voiced support for.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether El-Sayed believes the past support from the Detroit DSA undermines his claims about what he believes about capitalism.
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Having cleared the Democratic primary, El-Sayed will face off against Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers on Nov. 3.
Fox News’ Robert Schmad contributed to this report
