El-Sayed Airs Michigan Senate Ad on Fox News and Newsmax Featuring Conservative Pundits' Praise
Photo: The New York TimesMichigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has launched a minute-long TV ad, titled Red Hat, airing on Fox News and Newsmax that uses clips of conservative commentators praising him and criticizing Republican opponent Mike Rogers. Semafor reported the campaign is making a six-figure buy. In the spot, filmed before an American flag in a warehouse, El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official, says he and Republicans share goals: getting money out of politics, lowering costs, defending free speech and releasing government files on Jeffrey Epstein. He also backs the Make America Healthy Again movement. Fox News host Jesse Watters says he beat the machine, and Tucker Carlson says he would not vote for Rogers at gunpoint. Semafor said polling has not yet shown the approach pulling in Trump voters.
Right-leaning outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had. HuffPost leads with the ad, presenting it as a sign of campaign confidence after El-Sayed shored up national Democrats' support and ended intraparty arguments over his electability, and it notes the spot turns the networks' own content against them. The New York Times instead focuses on his need for Black voters and how tensions between Black and Arab communities in Michigan could complicate that; its available text does not mention the ad. Semafor largely matches HuffPost on the ad but adds the buy size, the pundit quotes and the point that polling has not backed the strategy. With no right-leaning coverage, no left-right comparison is possible.
How the sides differ Left sources split between the ad and Black-Arab tensions; alternative sources stress the ad and weak polling; right sources have not covered it.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
- The New York TimesPaywallEl-Sayed Needs Black Voters in Michigan. Tensions With Arab Americans Make That Harder.
HuffPost leads with the ad as a sign of campaign confidence, quoting El-Sayed's pitch to Republicans. The New York Times focuses instead on tensions between Black and Arab communities complicating his need for Black voters.
Semafor reports the ad with details shared first with it: a six-figure buy, quotes from Jesse Watters and Tucker Carlson, and a note that polling has not backed the populist strategy.
Not covering this story. None of the right-leaning outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.