On Tuesday, Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed spent the day campaigning across Detroit with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

This decision was a gut-punch to anyone who remembers the role the Biden-Harris administration played in the Gaza genocide, continued seamlessly by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

El-Sayed, who has made clear his embrace of capitalism and condemnation of Palestinian resistance to settler colonialism, has always had the hallmarks of an establishment candidate.

And when a reporter asked at a Detroit press conference whether campaigning with Harris, after his own support for the uncommitted movement, might backfire with Arab American voters, El-Sayed turned on the questioner:

“Is Vice President Harris the same as President Biden? Was Vice President Harris running for president at the time we were uncommitted? Answer the question… You’re asking a question based on false premises, so I’m just getting you to clarify your premise… Thank you. Next question.”

Harris herself has answered his question. Asked on the US talk show The View in October 2024 what she would have done differently from Biden, she said: “There is not a thing that comes to mind… I’ve been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact.”

After President Joe Biden dropped out, the uncommitted movement took its demand for an arms embargo directly to Harris as the party’s nominee. She never granted it.

El-Sayed’s response drew swift backlash on social media, with critics deriding the uncommitted movement as a scam and condemning his arrogant dismissal of the contradiction the reporter had raised.