{"id":2626217,"date":"2026-07-07T17:31:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigans-el-sayed-backed-defunding-the-police-in-2020-despite-denial\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T17:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:32:14","slug":"michigans-el-sayed-backed-defunding-the-police-in-2020-despite-denial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigans-el-sayed-backed-defunding-the-police-in-2020-despite-denial\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan&#8217;s el Sayed backed defunding the police in 2020 despite denial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmichigans-el-sayed-backed-defunding-the-police-in-2020-despite-denial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2626217&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Abdul El Sayed, a Michigan Democratic Senate candidate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-glenn-youngkin-call-covid-19-relief-unnecessary-in-a-may-12-interview\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Did Glenn Youngkin Call COVID-19 Relief \u2018Unnecessary\u2019 In A May 12 Interview?\">previously expressed support<\/a> for defunding the police in 2020, though he later claimed those statements were taken out of context and deleted related <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for Donald Trump\">social media<\/a> posts. A CNN review confirmed that he defended aspects of the defund movement, advocating for reallocating funds rather than abolishing police. He describes his stance as &#8220;refunding&#8221; public services and supports investments in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >law enforcement recruitment<\/a>, retention, behavioral responses, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-house-republicans-divided-on-purpose-of-vaccination-database-bill\/\" title=\"Exclusive \u2014\u00a0House ...ublicans Divided on Purpose of Vaccination Database Bill\">public health programs<\/a>. El Sayed is competing in a contentious primary against Rep. haley stevens, with backing from prominent progressive figures like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The primary has become a contest between more progressive and establishment Democratic factions, with El Sayed positioned as the more progressive candidate.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michigan\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"655\">Michigan<\/a> Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul el Sayed displayed strong public support for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/defund-the-police\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11370\">defunding the police<\/a> in 2020 despite denying he backed the movement, according to reported interviews from that year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El Sayed is heading into a heated <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-primary\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2328\">Democratic primary<\/a> to replace outgoing Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gary-peters\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1182\">Gary Peters<\/a> (D-MI) and has faced backlash over previous posts he made supporting the \u201cdefund the police\u201d movement that arose in the summer of 2020. The candidate has claimed the posts were \u201ctaken out of context\u201d and has since deleted social media posts appearing to support the cause, claiming he \u201cnever\u201d supported it.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4639108\/graham-platner-represents-democratic-party-laurel-libby\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>\u2018A Nazi Communist with rape allegations, that\u2019s who represents the Democratic Party\u2019: Laurel Libby<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4639277\/talarico-paxton-july-fourth-england\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Talarico knocks Paxton for spending Fourth of July in UK<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4639312\/joy-behar-democrats-acted-sooner-graham-platner-maine-senate-race\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>The View\u2019s Joy Behar says Democrats should have acted sooner on Platner before more allegations surfaced<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/07\/politics\/kfile-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-defund-police-fact-check\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/07\/politics\/kfile-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-defund-police-fact-check\">a CNN KFile review<\/a> of his media appearances found that el Sayed, Detroit\u2019s former public health director, defended the concept in several interviews in 2020. El Sayed claimed activists needed to explain what defunding the police means rather than just using the phrase on social media.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe that we do need to defund the police insofar as defunding the police is disinvesting in the means of incarcerating someone or killing them on the streets,\u201d he told Detroit Public Radio in June 2020. He added that he preferred to describe the approach as \u201crefunding\u201d public services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When recently asked if he still backed the unpopular movement, el Sayed told CNN\u2019s Kasie Hunt he had deleted social media posts referencing the cause, adding that he instead supports investment in law enforcement recruiting and retention, along with behavioral response and public health programs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4638448\/haley-stevens-launches-website-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-debate\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4638448\/haley-stevens-launches-website-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-debate\/\">HALEY STEVENS LAUNCHED WEBSITE OF ABDUL EL SAYED\u2019S \u2018BRAGS\u2019 AHEAD OF DEBATE NIGHT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El Sayed is moving toward a highly contested primary where he will face Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). State Sen. Mallory McMorrow <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4636582\/mallory-mcmorrow-suspend-michigan-senate-campaign\/\">ditched her bid<\/a> for the seat last week, leaving the choice to Michigan voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the primary contest, el Sayed and Stevens are looking to garner support from former McMorrow supporters. El Sayed is viewed as the more progressive candidate and is backed by Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bernie-sanders\/\">Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-VT) and Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez\/\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-NY). Stevens has the support of Senate Minority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-schumer\/\">Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) and Speaker Emerita<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nancy-pelosi\/\"> Nancy Pelosi <\/a>(D-CA) and is viewed as an establishment Democrat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>El Sayed supported defunding police in 2020, denies backing it now<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4130,"featured_media":2626218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26111101333279-1.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3652,36407,81734,4601],"class_list":["post-2626217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-3652","tag-defunding-the-police","tag-el-sayed","tag-michigan"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26111101333279-1.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2626217"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2626221,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626217\/revisions\/2626221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2626218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2626217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2626217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2626217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}