{"id":2636194,"date":"2026-07-27T18:10:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/el-sayed-swamped-with-criticism-after-ogre-on-a-pike-comment\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T18:13:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:13:42","slug":"el-sayed-swamped-with-criticism-after-ogre-on-a-pike-comment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/el-sayed-swamped-with-criticism-after-ogre-on-a-pike-comment\/","title":{"rendered":"El Sayed swamped with criticism after &#8216;ogre on a pike&#8217; comment"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><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%2Fel-sayed-swamped-with-criticism-after-ogre-on-a-pike-comment%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=2636194&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, faced backlash after making controversial remarks suggesting that pushing the Democratic Party further left would require &#8220;putting one ogre on a pike,&#8221; a metaphor he used to describe his approach to primary challenges and advancing the progressive movement. During a donor call, he indicated that winning the Michigan Senate seat could give him a platform to challenge more moderate Democrats like John Fetterman and to push for more progressive policies, including primarying opponents. His comments sparked criticism from fellow Democrats, including concerns over profanity and implications of sexism, as some interpreted the &#8220;ogre&#8221; remark as directed at his female opponent, Haley Stevens. <\/p>\n<p>El Sayed\u2019s statements about supporting primary challenges and his ambitions for a 2028 Senate run have also influenced perceptions of the race against stevens, with some viewing his remarks as personal and divisive. The candidate&#8217;s comments and campaign positioning have garnered diverse reactions, with some Democrats calling his language and approach unhelpful to civil political discourse. The upcoming debate between el Sayed and Stevens is scheduled for shortly after these controversies. Additionally, there is commentary on Fetterman\u2019s political stance and the possibility of him switching parties, which some Republicans have welcomed.The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >episode highlights internal party tensions<\/a> and the complex dynamics of Democratic primaries in Michigan.  <\/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\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"655\">Michigan<\/a> Democratic <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"8765\">Senate<\/a> candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abdul-el-sayed\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"23138\">Abdul el Sayed<\/a> is facing backlash from members of his own party after saying that moving the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"288\">Democratic Party<\/a> in a more progressive direction would require putting \u201cone ogre on a pike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the donor call, el Sayed discussed how winning the Michigan Senate race would give him a national platform to push the Democratic Party further left, including backing a primary challenge against Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-fetterman\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1175\">John Fetterman<\/a> (D-PA) in 2028.<\/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\/4665081\/michigan-abdul-el-sayed-ogre-on-a-pike-leak\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>El Sayed swamped with criticism after leaked \u2018ogre on a pike\u2019 comment<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4665073\/abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-leaked-comments-2028-haley-stevens\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Abdul el Sayed\u2019s 2028 ambitions cloud Michigan Senate race against Haley Stevens<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4664292\/tim-walz-wife-endorses-angie-craig-minnesota-senate-primary\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Tim Walz\u2019s wife endorses Angie Craig for Senate as outgoing governor stays mum<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf I win \u2026 well, y\u2019all 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,\u201d el Sayed said during a Zoom meeting with donors, according to audio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/27\/el-sayed-backlash-leaked-comment-michigan-senate-01012659\">obtained<\/a> by <em>Politico<\/em>. \u201cIdeally, 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,\u201d he added, describing how he believed a Senate victory could help advance the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/progressives\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1115\">progressive<\/a> movement.<\/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\">El Sayed did not mention his primary opponent, Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4654022\/haley-stevens-michigan-abdul-el-sayed-william-lawrence-cbc\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4654022\">Haley Stevens <\/a>(D-MI), by name in the portion of the recording reviewed by <em>Politico<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several Democrats condemned the remarks on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cViolent, vulgar threats have no place in a democratic electoral contest,\u201d Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) said. \u201cWith political violence on the rise, we need to be doing everything we can to lower the temperature \u2014 not raise it. It\u2019s the American people who suffer most when we degrade the political process this way.\u201d<\/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\">An el Sayed campaign spokesperson referred <em>Politico<\/em> to an earlier statement saying the candidate had been \u201cspeaking metaphorically\u201d about supporting a primary challenge to Fetterman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El Sayed and Fetterman have repeatedly clashed over <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"219\">Israel<\/a>, and Fetterman has increasingly broken with fellow Democrats, frequently criticizing members of his own party while making regular appearances on conservative media networks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Majority Leader<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"178\"> John Thune<\/a> (R-SD) said Tuesday that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"240\">Republicans<\/a> would<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4657518\/thune-gop-welcome-fetterman-if-he-leaves-democratic-party\/\"> welcome Fetterman<\/a> if he ever chose to leave the Democratic Party.<\/p>\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<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe would welcome him,\u201d Thune <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4657518\/thune-gop-welcome-fetterman-if-he-leaves-democratic-party\/\">said<\/a> last week. \u201cI haven\u2019t talked to him recently. I have had conversations with him in the past, as have many of my colleagues, about the challenges he faces in his caucus. There are many of us who I think would welcome the opportunity to have him in the Republican conference. But that\u2019s a decision that\u2019s up to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some Democrats interpreted el Sayed\u2019s \u201cogre\u201d remark as referring to Stevens, even though he did not explicitly mention her in the recording, according to <em>Politico<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCalling your female opponent an ogre you want to put on a pike is not beating the rap that this race has some serious sexism,\u201d Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, wrote on X.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Melissa Byrne, a former aide to Sen.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bernie-sanders\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"41\"> Bernie Sanders <\/a>(I-VT), called the comments \u201can unforced error\u201d that was \u201creally bad and beneath the progressive project,\u201d though she later deleted the post.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4665073\/abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-leaked-comments-2028-haley-stevens\/#google_vignette\">ABDUL EL SAYED\u2019S 2028 AMBITIONS CLOUD MICHIGAN SENATE RACE AGAINST HALEY STEVENS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAbdul continues with personal insults and making this race about his personal political ambitions and the other 49 states,\u201d said Arik Wolk, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign. \u201cHaley is focused on getting things done for Michigan, and only Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments come as el Sayed and Stevens are scheduled to meet Monday night for their final Democratic Senate debate ahead of the Aug. 4 primary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>El Sayed faces backlash over \u2018ogre on a pike\u2019 remark in Michigan race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4195,"featured_media":2636195,"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\/07\/AP26200714557537.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3801,50410,7375,81734,71297],"class_list":["post-2636194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-comments","tag-controversy-2","tag-criticism","tag-el-sayed","tag-publicreaction"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26200714557537.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2636194","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\/4195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2636194"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2636194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2636198,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2636194\/revisions\/2636198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2636195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2636194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2636194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2636194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}