A black school board member supporting Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens told the congresswoman&#8217;s opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, to stop speaking and playing Arabic music on the campaign trail, inflaming racial tensions in one of the nation&#8217;s most contentious Senate primaries.
In a viral video circulating on social media, Farmington school board member <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Angie_Smith_(Farmington_Public_School_District,_Michigan)#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angie Smith </a>explained why she backs Stevens over El-Sayed.
“We need someone that can represent all of us, not just one race, but all races,” Smith said at a campaign event. &#8220;I am supporting Haley Stevens because she&#8217;s that candidate.&#8221;
The individual behind the camera pressed Smith, who was first elected to the school board in 2016, for clarification.
“When you say you know not just for one, what do you mean by that?” he asked.
<a href="https://www.farmington.k12.mi.us/page/board-members-2026-27" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smith</a>, a single mother of three daughters, doubled down.
“The other candidate seems to be … doesn&#8217;t work a room. You have to know how to work the room. Don&#8217;t come out speaking only Arabic. Don&#8217;t come out with your Arabic music on,” Smith said. “Represent everyone.”
“You know, I&#8217;m the mother of a lesbian. I&#8217;m Puerto Rican and Cherokee, with a grandfather that was a white man from Ireland. Represent us all. Don&#8217;t just represent one ethnicity or one race,” she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Farmington school board member Angie Smith says she’s backing Stevens because she believes she will represent everyone, “not just one race… You have to know how to work the room, don’t just come in here speaking Arabic, don’t come out with your Arabic music on.” <a href="https://t.co/L6VYip6Xft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/L6VYip6Xft</a>
— Sam Robinson (@samueljrob) <a href="https://x.com/samueljrob/status/2080758781634310654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">July 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js"></script>
The criticism of El-Sayed — a Muslim Democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — infuriated leftists.
“This is insanely racist,” left-wing commentator <a href="https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/2080789249020858383?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mehdi Hasan</a> wrote on X. “Not only should this Angie Smith be asked to apologize but<a href="https://x.com/HaleyforMI" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> @HaleyforMI</a> should be asked to disown and condemn these racist remarks about<a href="https://x.com/AbdulElSayed" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> @AbdulElSayed</a> and Arab-Americans.”
Leftist streamer Hasan Piker, who has <a href="https://x.com/hasanthehun/status/2080788955352662130?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> America &#8220;deserved&#8221; 9/11, also criticized the viral exchange.
“This is not who we are as America. Especially sad to see it in the Democratic Party primary,” Piker said.
The flareup comes as Stevens and El-Sayed barnstorm Michigan, competing for support from crucial Democratic voting blocs, including Black and Muslim voters. With the party&#8217;s far-left wing behind El-Sayed, establishment Democrats have increasingly consolidated behind Stevens in the campaign’s homestretch.
On Friday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/things-just-got-harder-for-abdul-el-sayed?author=Blake+Schaper&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Major+Establishment+Democrat+Plants+Flag+Against+Abdul+El-Sayed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsed</a> Stevens.
“Just like me, Haley will do whatever it takes to get things done for the people of Michigan, and we need her now more than ever,” Whitmer said in a video <a href="https://x.com/gretchenwhitmer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to X.
The congresswoman, who recently went viral for her quirky <a href="https://x.com/FoxNews/status/2077370465522155935?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;stick it to them&#8221;</a> slogan, celebrated the endorsement, calling Whitmer &#8220;a champion for our state&#8221; who understands &#8220;the stakes of this race.&#8221;
Following the high-profile endorsement, Stevens’s <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/michigan-democratic-senate-primary-winner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">odds</a> of winning the Democratic primary on prediction market Polymarket rose from 21% to 36%.
Michigan’s Democratic primary is August 4.

Bernie Sanders Continues His “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour In Detroit With Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed

Black Democrat Tells Muslim Senate Candidate To Stop Speaking Arabic

Abdul El-Sayed

Democrats

Elections

Haley Stevens

Michigan

Michigan Primary

Midterms

News

Politics

U.S. Senate

Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Democratic Senate candidate Haley Stevens on Friday, backing her over far-Left rival Abdul El-Sayed in the state&#8217;s closely watched primary. 
“Just like me, Haley will do whatever it takes to get things done for the people of Michigan, and we need her now more than ever,” Whitmer said in a video Stevens <a href="https://x.com/gretchenwhitmer">posted</a> on X. 

Whitmer accused Republicans of raising the cost of living through the tariffs, cuts to Medicaid, and “soaring gas prices” while praising Stevens&#8217; record on manufacturing, prescription drug costs, and economic issues, arguing she would put &#8220;Michigan first.&#8221;
Stevens celebrated the endorsement on X, calling Whitmer &#8220;a champion for our state&#8221; who understands &#8220;the stakes of this race.”
Following Whitmer’s nomination, Stevens&#8217; <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/michigan-democratic-senate-primary-winner">odds</a> of winning the Democratic primary on prediction market Polymarket rose from 21% to 36%.
Stevens has also drawn attention in recent weeks after videos resurfaced showing her speaking with an exaggerated accent, including a campaign speech in which she <a href="https://x.com/FoxNews/status/2077370465522155935">urged</a> supporters to “Stick it to ‘em.” 
The endorsement gives Stevens a boost in one of the nation&#8217;s most competitive Democratic Senate primaries.

Major Establishment Democrat Plants Flag Against Abdul El-Sayed

2026 Midterms

Gretchen Whitmer

Primary

An investigation into a donor who contributed over $100,000 to ActBlue led to a strange discovery in the campaign of Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic socialist currently running for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat.
Eighty-eight-year-old widow Elizabeth Waffle, who lives in a run-down trailer, allegedly donated more than $150,000 through nearly 15,000 contributions over 5 years to ActBlue. Forty-seven of those donations were to Abdul El-Sayed in the last two years, the Michigan Enjoyer <a href="https://enjoyer.com/is-el-sayed-s-campaign-funded-by-elderly-fake-donors-actblue/">reported</a>. 
Waffle, who lives on a “modest pension,” according to the report, was stunned to hear the numbers when asked. 
“One hundred and fifty thousand? Hell no. I don’t have that kind of money,” Waffle said in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEDxg_NatWE">interview</a>. 
“This is very abnormal,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I think it’s wrong and I think there&#8217;s something in there that is off.” 

&#8220;But somehow, those few dozen small donations she has made over the past five years have transmogrified into 14,696 donations totaling more than $150,000,&#8221; the outlet reported.
Waffle continued to tell LeDuff she does not even own a computer and only “sometimes” has access to WiFi. The documents he presented to her show her making donations to out-of-state candidates with names that “don’t ring a bell” from both her trailer and a previously owned apartment on the same day. 
ActBlue has been the target of multiple investigations since 2023 for “rinsing foreign money” and “massive private donations” that are made up by stealing older citizens’ identities, according to the Michigan Enjoyer.
Just last month, ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones appeared under subpoena before a House Administration Committee as part of a broader investigation into ActBlue’s fraud. During the hearing, she invoked her Fifth Amendment right a whopping 22 times, failing to answer many questions when asked about the investigation that started three years ago.
El-Sayed has openly admitted that he takes money from ActBlue. His campaign has boasted about the donations it has received on multiple occasions, including in <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/07/15/abdul-el-sayed-haley-stevens-mike-rogers-michigan-senate-race-fundraising/90933599007/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=false&amp;gca-epti=z116142p118750l118750c118750u002442e1174xxv116142&amp;gca-ft=180&amp;gca-ds=sophi">The Detroit News</a>, <a href="https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/abdul-el-sayed-outraises-haley-stevens-but-super-pacs-dominate-senate-race/">Bridge Michigan</a>, and even his own <a href="https://abdulforsenate.com/2026/07/icymi-as-abdul-leads-in-grassroots-fundraising-gains-special-interests-pour-record-tens-of-millions-into-race-for-stevens/">campaign website</a>.
According to the Michigan Enjoyer, Rep. Haley Stevens has also received contributions from ActBlue, &#8220;[as] has Slotkin, Whitmer, Nessel, Benson, Gilchrist, and the entire Democrat gang.&#8221;

Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Holds Rally In Detroit With Sen. Bernie Sanders And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate Campaign Tied To Questionable Donations

ActBlue

Political observers might have been surprised when socialist Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed began gaining traction in Michigan, a state that is far from deep blue.
I wasn’t.
I grew up in metro-Detroit, Michigan, just outside Dearborn, which is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States. Over the years, I’ve watched this population more than <a href="http://freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2023/09/26/arab-americans-now-a-majority-in-dearborn-new-census-data-shows/70929525007/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z1146xxe1146xxv004451d--49--b--49--&amp;gca-ft=152&amp;gca-ds=sophi">double</a>, and its influence has spread beyond the city of Dearborn — where businesses advertise in Arabic and the Islamic call to prayer is broadcast over loudspeakers throughout the day — to the entire metro-Detroit region. Just last year, officials in my hometown of Canton, Michigan, <a href="https://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/2025/06/05/canton-mosque-community-center-planning-commission/84049749007/">approved</a> the construction of a massive Islamic mosque and education complex called the Muslim Education Community Center of America — MECCA for short. Groundbreaking took place last month.
El-Sayed is the inevitable political result of Michigan’s multi-decade experiment with mass Muslim immigration. His parents are both Egyptian immigrants, and his father <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2018/0329/Can-a-Michigan-doctor-become-America-s-first-Muslim-governor">was a part-time imam</a>. His father-in-law <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayeds-father-in-law-a-top-donor-to-an-el-sayed-super-pac-is-among-top-leaders-of-muslim-brotherhood-organization-linked-to-terror-funding/">is a founding committee member </a>of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the federal government.
El-Sayed himself is a practicing Muslim, and while studying at the University of Michigan served as the vice president of the Muslim Students Association, which <a href="https://www.hudson.org/national-security-defense/the-muslim-brotherhood-s-u-s-network">also has ties </a>to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Pointing any of this out is, of course, Islamophobic, according to El-Sayed. We’re not supposed to ask why El-Sayed was <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-153209708.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABSyu0Jgu5hCkWd-CH146ubMP3prhY6mo5C3wvC8bbCRPp07o-sx4fUnO35UjzNvDStsj8JXzlH_OSWYDvF6JHQRl3U5cl8Y-kcPWSndCKtin8xNYU07k7B4ytMWjm7-8VFaHHA_UfOEETn3DxKe7XZmxQT47NMvouWtgrfhQuDp">worried</a> about offending “a lot” of people in Dearborn who, in his own words, were “sad” about the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. We’re not supposed to think it strange that El-Sayed honored the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by <a href="https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individuals/abdul-el-sayed/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">fretting</a> about “the cultural and social biases that fuel discriminatory behavior and hate crimes” against Muslims. (Unlike Norm MacDonald, he was not joking).
And yet these are exactly the kinds of questions many Michiganders are now asking themselves. How did our state become home to <a href="https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/michigan-activists-mourn-death-of-hezbollah-terrorist-leader-at-vigil-dearborn-area-community-members-middle-east-research-institute-memri-israel-lebanon-palestine-hassasn-nasrallah">public vigils</a> mourning the death of a Hezbollah terrorist leader? How did a rally in Dearborn come to feature chants of <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4583463-white-house-condemns-death-to-america-chants-at-rally-in-dearborn-mich/">“Death to America”</a>? How did the mayor of Dearborn, who has endorsed El-Sayed, come to believe it was acceptable to tell a Christian constituent he was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/dearborns-muslim-mayor-tells-christian-hes-not-welcome-debate-honoring-pro-terror-arab-leader">“not welcome”</a> in his own city simply for objecting to renaming city streets after someone who celebrated Islamic terrorism?
And perhaps most importantly: Why does one of the leading candidates seeking to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate feel compelled to embrace and align himself with the very people at the center of this disturbing trend?
Because he has to. Not just because he practices the same faith, nor because the Muslim bloc in Michigan has grown to become a powerful political force in the state, but because the left-wing coalition El-Sayed represents has been built around an increasingly visible alliance between Marxist ideology and Islamist activism.
Like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose victory in 2024 El-Sayed has said inspired his own run, El-Sayed is the perfect standard-bearer for this unholy alliance. He is able to cater to the far leftists in places like Ann Arbor and Traverse City with his attacks on the wealthy and talk of universal healthcare — never mind his hypocrisy on both fronts — while also winning over Dearborn’s Muslims who reject much of the Left’s cultural agenda.
These two groups might have very different visions for what the ultimate political outcome should be, but they at least agree on the immediate priority: subverting and destroying the values and institutions that have long defined our country.
Take a drive through metro-Detroit, where church buildings <a href="https://www.michigannewssource.com/2022/09/former-detroit-mega-church-becomes-mosque/">are being converted</a> into mosques, where the FBI <a href="https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/synagogue-attack-fbi-trained-temple-israel-active-shooting-response-months-before-ambush">is training security</a> at Jewish synagogues, and where Hezbollah and Iranian flags are <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/welcome-to-dearborn-americas-jihad-capital-pro-hamas-michigan-counterterrorism-a99dba38?mod=hp_trending_now_opn_pos1">proudly displayed</a>, and you’ll realize that, in Michigan, they have a head start.
The truth is that the groundwork for this political moment has been years in the making. El-Sayed hasn’t created a new coalition — he has inherited one built over decades through immigration, demographic change, and the rise of identity-based politics. Whether he succeeds in his primary campaign for the Democratic nomination will be a test of just how strong and how deeply rooted this coalition has become.
But for those of us who will always call Michigan home, we know the problem didn’t start with El-Sayed. And it won’t end with him either.
***
Kaylee McGhee White is a Fox News contributor and the editor-in-chief of IW Features, the grassroots storytelling arm of Independent Women.

The Islamist-Marxist Takeover Of Middle America

Dearborn

Detroit

DW Opinion

Islamization

Marxists

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed suggested he could build an unlikely coalition that includes supporters of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), arguing that many voters who follow the Georgia Republican will ultimately back his campaign.
The comments come as El-Sayed, a Democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and now Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), continues to rack up high-profile endorsements in Michigan&#8217;s closely watched Democratic Senate primary against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).
During an interview with Politico&#8217;s Dasha Burns, El-Sayed was asked about ideological overlap between himself and Greene, including opposition to AIPAC, skepticism toward continued U.S. funding for Israel, and criticism of rising healthcare costs. Burns asked whether those similarities could help him build &#8220;this new coalition with people like MTG.&#8221;
&#8220;Look, she&#8217;s said a lot of things I disagree with too,&#8221; El-Sayed replied. &#8220;I will just say this: I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised. When you ask me about why establishment, elite Democrats are so worried about me, it&#8217;s because there are a lot of people who listen to her who are going to vote for me in the general election.&#8221;
&#8220;They&#8217;re not afraid I&#8217;m going to lose,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;They&#8217;re afraid I&#8217;m going to win.&#8221; 
Rather than distancing himself from Greene&#8217;s audience, El-Sayed argued that many of the issues motivating her supporters also resonate with his left-wing campaign. 
&#8220;The fact that MTG agrees with those points should not be all that uncommon, because they&#8217;re just obvious things to say,&#8221; El-Sayed said while discussing healthcare costs and foreign policy.
He went on to argue that both major parties have been captured by corporate interests, singling out pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, hospitals, and the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. &#8220;When you have a public consensus that&#8217;s here &#8230; and then a political consensus that&#8217;s over here, the difference is usually somebody&#8217;s money,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Marjorie Taylor Greene: &#8220;There are a lot of people who listen to her who are going to vote for me in the general election.&#8221;
He tells <a href="https://x.com/DashaBurns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dashaburns</a> their common ground on issues like Israel and health care &#8220;should not be all that… <a href="https://t.co/d22Q8RelEo">pic.twitter.com/d22Q8RelEo</a>
— POLITICO (@politico) <a href="https://x.com/politico/status/2079257950527385716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
The interview comes as left-wing leaders continue to flock to El-Sayed in one of the Democratic Party&#8217;s highest-profile ideological primary battles of the 2026 cycle. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez <a href="https://www.ms.now/news/sanders-ocasio-cortez-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-race">headlined</a> a campaign rally for El-Sayed in Michigan over the weekend as part of their &#8220;People versus the Powerful&#8221; tour.
&#8220;Right now, there is a very clear choice before us,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez told supporters. &#8220;We can choose $50 million and counting in dark money trying to buy the state of Michigan, or we can choose Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.&#8221;
Sanders likewise framed the race as a test of whether outside spending could determine the Democratic nominee. 
&#8220;This is an election which will show the nation whether AIPAC and other billionaire-funded super PACs can spend tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars to buy a U.S. Senate seat,&#8221; Sanders said.
On Monday, Warren became the latest national figure to endorse El-Sayed, praising his pledge to reject corporate PAC money while taking aim at Stevens&#8217; outside support. 
&#8220;Michiganders deserve a senator who will fight for you, not for special interests running millions of dollars in TV ads to buy this seat,&#8221; Warren said in a <a href="https://x.com/ewarren/status/2079183658628313225">video</a> announcing her endorsement. &#8220;Abdul is the only candidate in this race who can build the grassroots movement needed to win in November.&#8221;
The race has emerged as a proxy battle between the Democratic Party&#8217;s democratic socialist wing and its establishment leadership. While Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and Warren have lined up behind El-Sayed, Stevens has secured endorsements from retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The winner of the August 4 Democratic primary will likely face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in November in one of the Democrats&#8217; top Senate pickup opportunities as they seek to reclaim the majority.

Bernie-Backed Socialist Sees Common Cause With MTG Supporters

Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Michigan Senate hopeful, just revealed he is in the top 1% of the state’s wealthiest earners.
This comes after El-Sayed faced pressure from his Democratic primary opponent, Haley Stevens, to keep his promise of transparency and release his tax filings before the primary election, Wood TV, an NBC affiliate, <a href="https://www.woodtv.com/news/elections/democratic-senate-candidate-el-sayed-releases-tax-returns-ahead-of-primary/">reported</a>.
According to El-Sayed&#8217;s 2025 <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aI4HmuW4EmMR0y9JDZ_l-3P2Np51p4z0/view">partial tax release</a>, he and his wife reported $130,749 in wages, $262,299 in capital gains, and $292,881 in “additional income.” This totals to an adjusted gross income of $675,246. 
This adjusted gross income puts him well above the threshold of $611,000 to be in Michigan’s top 1%, according to <a href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-detroit-a023b240-b72d-11ef-b1d6-a7e5c47ef06b?">Axios</a>.
The partial release does not disclose all his streams of income. Additionally, his net worth is not disclosed, though it is estimated to lie between $580,000 and $1.7 million.
El-Sayed’s campaign said that the capital gains come from the sale of a house El-Sayed’s in-laws have bought for him and his wife, along with El-Sayed’s little-known podcast America Dissected and his wife’s psychiatry practice, Mind Work Psychiatry.
El-Sayed claimed the delay in the release of his tax filings was not to try to conceal financial records, but that “my wife and her family own property abroad, so getting all those tax forms is a thing,” The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayed-in-top-1-percent-of-michigan-earners-partial-tax-release-shows/">reported</a>.
El-Sayed previously stated that he had a “mundane,” “standard” tax return. However, El-Sayed has previously let slip that his wealth situation differs from that of many in his state.
In an interview, El-Sayed <a href="https://x.com/BreitbartNews/status/2074861180418437197?s=20">affirmed</a> that he is most likely a millionaire, saying that his and his wife’s combined assets would “add up to something like that,” but insisted, “My career has never been about trying to maximize on money.”
On his website, El-Sayed describes himself as a physician who moved into politics and <a href="https://abdulforsenate.com/">says</a> he “is fighting for an economy that works for everyone” and “healthcare for all” and that he will fight against Trump’s billionaire friends.
Though El-Sayed has distanced himself from Democratic Socialism, he has gained the support of democratic socialists, including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, according to <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/meet-graham-platner-2-0-michigans-abdul-el-sayed/amp/">The National Review</a>.
El-Sayed has recently been under fire for other issues. The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayed-wants-medicare-for-all-from-cradle-to-grave-his-psychiatrist-wife-doesnt-accept-medicare-or-any-insurance-at-all/">exposed</a> El-Sayed’s wife for not accepting Medicare or any other insurance for her psychiatry work, even though one of El-Sayed’s major party platforms is &#8220;Medicare for All.”
The primary between Stevens and El-Sayed will take place on August 4, and the winner will face Republican Mike Rogers in November for the Senate seat of retiring Democrat Senator Gary Peters.

Screenshot 2026-07-17 at 11.47.42 AM

Anti-Billionaire Leftist Candidate Ranks In State’s Top 1%

Democrat

Democratic Socialists Of America

Millions of Americans face apocalyptic skies as wind blows heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires into the United States. 
Impact from the smoke could be felt Friday across major cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. The smoke originated from roughly 800 wildfires that blazed in recent weeks in Ontario, Canada and is expected to continue impacting American&#8217;s air quality for the next several days. 
The conditions have prompted air quality warnings from officials who have encouraged residents in some areas to stay inside. Milwaukee saw its worst air quality on record while alerts were issued in over a dozen states — mianly throughout the Midwest and Northeast — urging people to be cautious. 
Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency <a href="https://x.com/OhioEPA/status/2077826905974149601/photo/1">told</a> people to “avoid strenuous outdoor activities when possible, especially if you have heart or respiratory conditions. Watch for symptoms like wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or irritation in your nose, throat, or eyes.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GovGretchenWhitmer/posts/a-statewide-air-quality-alert-remains-in-place-today-with-air-quality-ranging-fr/1558742538934998/">said</a> people across her state should “stay indoors whenever possible.”
The smoke could be seen in the nation&#8217;s capital on Friday, with residents noting the eerie look of the smoke floating around the iconic city.
“The sky and the air in DC looks apocalyptic — as if things can&#8217;t get weirder,” <a href="https://x.com/MeghanMcCain/status/2078086173025603685">said</a> commentator Meghan McCain.
The fallout from the fires has led some lawmakers to call for action, including Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno who said he plans to file legislation that would sanction Canada over the wildfires. 
“Canada’s government failed to invest in wildfire prevention methods including forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns, and stronger enforcement against arson,” Moreno’s <a href="https://www.13abc.com/2026/07/16/sen-bernie-moreno-looks-hold-canadian-government-responsible-wildfire-smoke/">office said</a>. 
Four Michigan Congressional Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate John James, <a href="https://bergman.house.gov/uploadedfiles/canadian_wildfires_summer_2026.pdf">wrote</a> a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to critique Canada’s handling of its wildfires.  
&#8220;The season has come around again, and nothing has changed except that our patience has run out,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. &#8220;Our constituents in Michigan are once again under air quality alerts. Our hospitals are once again treating children, dialysis patients, and older residents for the effects of smoke that did not originate anywhere near them.&#8221;
&#8220;This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to,” they added. “We were told last year that this would be treated with urgency. It was not.&#8221;
Earlier this week, Carney said that thousands of people across Canada had been forced to evacuate due to the fires.

Local Weather U.S.

Apocalyptic Skies Spread Across Major U.S. Cities

Canada

Mark Carney

Ohio

wildfire

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) announced Wednesday that she is returning home to Michigan after the death of her 12-day-old great-granddaughter.
Dingell shared the news on Facebook and X, saying she would leave Washington to be with her family.  
“Today I am returning home to be with my family during an incredibly painful and deeply personal time,” Dingell <a href="https://x.com/RepDebDingell/status/2077456509273829428">posted</a> on X. “Our family’s 12-day-old daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter has returned home to God this afternoon. We have been in God’s hands throughout all of this,” she continued.
“While I had planned to be present for votes today and tomorrow, my family needs me now,” she said. “In moments like this, there is no greater responsibility than being by the side of those we love, offering comfort, support, and remembrance.” 
Dingell, 72, has no biological children but became stepmother to her late husband John Dingell&#8217;s four children, making the infant part of her extended family. She succeeded her husband in Congress in 2015. 
Colleagues shared messages of support on social media.
“Sending our deepest condolences to Debbie,” <a href="https://x.com/RepMikeLawler/status/2077481876567019983">said</a> New York Republican Congressman Mike Lawler on X. “Keeping her granddaughter and the entire Dingell family in our prayers.”
“Our deepest sympathies, thoughts, and prayers are with the Dingell family during this difficult time,” The Michigan Democratic Party <a href="https://x.com/MichiganDems/status/2077484442864734384">responded</a>.

Newly Reelected House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) Holds News Conference After House Democrats’ Leadership Elections

Michigan Congresswoman Announces Devastating Personal News

Congress

Debbie Dingell

Despite claims that he never pushed to defund the police, leftist darling Abdul El-Sayed once said that “we do need to defund the police” and argued that funds used for law enforcement should go to public libraries instead. 
El-Sayed, running for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20251116082605/https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/15/abdul-el-sayed-distances-himself-from-past-defund-the-police-rhetoric/87276996007/">argues</a> that he “never, never, called for defunding” the police. That claim contrasts with anti-police positions he took during the summer of 2020 as riots broke out over the death of convicted felon George Floyd in Minneapolis. 
“I believe that we do need to defund the police in so far as defunding the police is disinvesting in the means of incarcerating someone or killing them on the streets, and investing more in the means of educating and empowering engaging communities, with the means of being able to take on systemic poverty that we&#8217;ve allowed systematic racism to allow a fester in too many communities,” El-Sayed said in a June 23, 2020 MichMash Politics <a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/michmash-politics-1990214/episodes/abdul-el-sayed-discusses-racis-100146585">interview</a> first <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/07/politics/kfile-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-defund-police-fact-check">flagged</a> by CNN. 
That comment came after he suggested that he generally did not use the term “defund the police” but advocated for the policies pushed by the movement. 
“Rather than investing in a force of people who respond with guns and put people in jails, what if we were to take on systematic poverty by investing in the means of uprooting that poverty itself?” he said. “What if we were to invest in social services? If we were to invest in public schools? What if we were to invest in public libraries?”
El-Sayed is facing off against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the competitive Democratic primary race to replace outgoing Senator Gary Peters. The winner of the primary will likely go on to run against Republican Mike Rogers. 
Facing scrutiny over his previous police rhetoric, El-Sayed is now trying to distance himself from the defund the police movement. That contradicts what he told MichMash back in June 2020. 
“I want a refund on the taxpayer dollars that I pay to police who use that to buy war material, to wage war in our streets, and I want to refund public health and public libraries and public schools,” El-Sayed said. 
Later in the same interview, he argued that people imprisoned are the real victims of crime because of “over-policing” and failure to combat poverty. 
“The fact of the matter is every single person winds up in jail, or worse, dead, at the hands of a police officer, has been failed by our system, either directly because of our over-policing, or indirectly because we have failed to invest in the things that uproot poverty in communities across the country,” he said.
The Daily Wire reached out to El-Sayed, the former public health director for Detroit, to explain his stance on defunding the police. 
“Abdul worked closely with law enforcement as Director of Health, Human, and Veterans services for Wayne County. As hands-on experience always allows, his perspective has become more nuanced,” campaign spokeswoman Roxie Richner told The Daily Wire. “One simple word has never been enough to fully explain the reforms we need for a challenge as complex as our criminal legal system.”
Richner added that El-Sayed believes &#8220;we need to improve law enforcement recruitment, retention, and retirement funding so that law enforcement officers come from the communities they serve.” El-Sayed also supports “community violence intervention” policies and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Richner said. The act would weaken legal protections for police officers. 
That response was similar to the comment given to CNN for an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/07/politics/kfile-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-defund-police-fact-check">article</a> highlighting El-Sayed’s history of anti-police rhetoric. The outlet noted that El-Sayed had deleted at least a dozen posts pushing defund the police policies. 
“Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty &amp; WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, &amp; housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about,” he wrote in one post from June 2020 that he later deleted. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1131227" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM.png" alt="" width="1368" height="851" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM.png 1368w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM-300x187.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM-926x576.png 926w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM-768x478.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1368px) 100vw, 1368px" />
El-Sayed, who claims that Floyd was the victim of an “assassination” and was “lynched,” suggested during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idJzgpT200c&amp;t=1s">seminar</a> hosted by the University of Michigan that police officers should not be armed. 
“So we have to ask ourselves, do police departments really need tanks and weapons of war and the material that’s coming back as hand-me-downs from the military abroad? Do police really need to use guns? Do we need as much of a police force?” he asked. 
He added that the &#8220;defund the police&#8221; movement was about getting the government to move away from &#8220;racist ideologies&#8221; that led police to &#8220;invest in war material&#8221; for law enforcement.
During his time pushing anti-police rhetoric, El-Sayed was heavily <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/michigan-senate-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-helped-lead-anti-police-group-as-it-organized-detroit-protest-turned-deadly-riot/">involved</a> in a group called Michigan United which compared police officers to &#8220;slave catchers&#8221; and helped organize a protest that turned into a riot, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Yes, Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed Really Wants To Defund The Police. Here Are The Receipts.

2026 elections

Defund The Police

Police

Senate

An illegal immigrant from Haiti is accused of chasing his coworker with a knife before fatally stabbing him at a meat processing plant in Coldwater, Michigan.
Haitian national Valmir Djempsley, 20, and Brandon Eduardo Velasquez Chavez, 21, were arguing while on the job together at Clemens Food Group on June 30 when the illegal immigrant ran after Chavez with a knife, News Channel 3 <a href="https://wwmt.com/news/local/coldwater-stabbing-clemens-food-group-argument-arrest-court-arraignment-crime-investigation-police-branch-county-west-michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, citing witness accounts. Prosecutors say Djempsley stabbed Chavez in the back, killing him at the scene.
Djempsley told investigators Chavez had been using his assigned knife and attempted to head-butt him while returning it. Police said no witnesses corroborated that account.
&#8220;From what I know right now, the knives are identified by the employees. They are given numbers, and they&#8217;re given to employees by that, and there was a dispute over a knife,&#8221; Coldwater Public Safety Director Joe Scheid told News Channel 3.
Djempsley entered the country illegally in Texas in 2024 and was released into the United States under the Biden administration, <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/07/08/ice-asks-michigan-not-release-haitian-illegal-alien-arrested-killing-his-coworker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Department of Homeland Security. News Channel 3 reported that Djempsley had authorization to work in the United States.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has since lodged a detainer requesting that local authorities transfer Djempsley into federal custody for deportation.
“This illegal alien barbarically stabbed his coworker to death,” Acting Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement Wednesday. “This murderer was released into American communities by the Biden Administration.&#8221;
&#8220;If it weren’t for the reckless open border policies of the Biden Administration, this criminal never would have been in our country in the first place and his victim would still be alive. We have lodged a detainer asking Michigan to not release this dangerous criminal from jail without notifying ICE,&#8221; Bis added.
Djempsley pleaded not guilty to his open murder charge, broke down in tears during his arraignment, and was denied bond, according to News Channel 3.
Branch County Prosecutor Victor Fitz told News Channel 3 that his office will seek the maximum sentence if Djempsley is convicted.
&#8220;If he&#8217;s found guilty, then we would expect there would be a sentence and we would be really demanding that that full sentence be served, whatever that might be,&#8221; Fitz said. &#8220;After that, deportation is pursued.&#8221;
&#8220;This is the most serious violation known to humankind,&#8221; he said. &#8220;He was supposed to be on his best behavior, but instead, he spilled the lifeblood of another human being.&#8221;

Untitled design – 2026-07-08T134640.785

Haitian Illegal Immigrant Fatally Stabs Coworker At Meat Processing Plant

Crime

deportation

Haiti

Haitian immigrants

Haitians

illegal alien

illegal immigrants

Immigration

Leftist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are concentrating their efforts on getting another radical leftist elected — this time in Michigan for the U.S. Senate. 
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are scheduled to host rallies across Michigan for leftist Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed on July 18 and 19. El-Sayed is in the middle of what&#8217;s expected to be a close race for the party&#8217;s nomination against Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens.
El-Sayed is running his campaign much like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with a heavy social media presence and large appeal among Muslims and young leftists. 
For the Fourth of July, he made a music video in which he danced to a Taylor Swift song on the pop star&#8217;s wedding weekend. &#8220;Happy Taylor wedding…err, July 4th weekend!&#8221; El-Sayed wrote in the caption above the video.
In another video, he took the song &#8220;I want to dance with somebody” and changed the lyrics to “I want to vote for somebody” while listing out his attributes. Stevens called out El-Sayed for his posts, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/us/politics/abdul-el-sayed-haley-stevens-michigan-senate-debate.html">arguing</a> that he’s more focused on his own publicity than the people of Michigan. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Happy Taylor wedding…err, July 4th weekend! <a href="https://t.co/1s1blnoY4P">pic.twitter.com/1s1blnoY4P</a>
— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) <a href="https://x.com/AbdulElSayed/status/2073429685870968917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
El-Sayed portrays himself as a physician despite <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/12/abdul-el-sayed-doctor-physician-00916389">not</a> being granted a medical license. Like democratic socialist candidates who have recently won Democratic primaries, El-Sayed is defending past radical statements he has made. 
In a 2020 radio interview, El-Sayed <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/abdul-el-sayed-repeatedly-called-210836248.html">said</a>, “We are in a moment where a lot of our public conversation gets chewed down into 280 characters or less … I believe that we do need to defund the police in so far as defunding the police is disinvesting in the means of incarcerating someone or killing them on the streets.&#8221;
El-Sayed is currently <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/07/politics/kfile-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-defund-police-fact-check">defending</a> his remarks by saying he never called to defund the police. One year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, El-Sayed supported another lockdown in April 2021. He suggested businesses should be fined for trying to open their doors in the midst of the public health crisis.
His anti-Israel stance also sparked controversy last October when El-Sayed’s campaign sent a fundraising email on the anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel that made no mention of Hamas’ atrocities and blamed Israel for launching “a ground invasion of Gaza.” El-Sayed&#8217;s campaign later said the email was sent by mistake, but the leftist stood by the message in the email.
During his Senate campaign, he has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-a-socialist-michigans-mamdani-has-the-lefts-new-playbook-but-doesnt-want-the-new-label">called</a> for ICE to be abolished, while doubling down on his push for Medicare for all and tuition-free access to higher education. The Michigan primary is on August 4. 
Democratic-socialists have been on a recent tear, ousting decade-long Democratic incumbents in the primaries. In June, Democratic socialist Melat Kiros upset incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in the primary for Colorado’s 1st congressional district. DeGette has served in Congress for longer than Kiros has been alive. 
In New York, three Mamdani-backed candidates swept their races. One of the candidates, Darializa Avila Chevalier, defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat despite past anti-American social media posts such as “I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me.”
A Fourth of July poll from the Cato Institute revealed that socialism is on the rise, as 53% of Gen Z and 40% of Millennials have a favorable view of socialism and are taking their new ideals to the voting booth.

AOC and Bernie Sanders

Bernie And AOC Focus On Pushing Radical Leftist In Vital Swing State

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Bernie Sanders

Socialism

A prominent Michigan Democrat suspended her U.S. Senate campaign Sunday, clearing the way for a direct showdown between the Democratic establishment and the party&#8217;s leftist wing in one of the nation&#8217;s most consequential Senate races.
State Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow announced she was ending her bid less than a month before the August 4 primary, leaving U.S. Representative. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed to compete for the nomination to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
McMorrow&#8217;s withdrawal dramatically reshapes a race Democrats must win if they hope to have any realistic chance of reclaiming the Senate majority in November.
The state senator, who launched her campaign positioning herself as an alternative to both Stevens and El-Sayed, thanked supporters in an <a href="https://x.com/MalloryMcMorrow/status/2073823061191659714?s=20">X post</a> Sunday but offered no endorsement. &#8220;Today, I&#8217;m announcing that I am suspending my campaign for United States Senate,&#8221; McMorrow said. &#8220;I&#8217;m doing it with a deep, deep sense of gratitude.&#8221; While McMorrow promised to support the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election, she declined to back either of her former rivals.
Her departure sets up a two-candidate contest between Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and much of the party establishment, and El-Sayed, a progressive favorite endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and other prominent figures on the Democratic Left.
The ideological split has become yet another proxy battle over the future direction of the Democratic Party, with establishment leaders arguing Stevens is the strongest candidate to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in November, while the left-wing contends El-Sayed represents the party&#8217;s energized grassroots base.
McMorrow&#8217;s exit also removes a political obstacle that had kept some influential Michigan Democrats from taking sides. Several Democrats had remained neutral because of their relationships with McMorrow, but her departure immediately prompted movement toward Stevens. According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-senate-democratic-primary-mcmorrow-stevens-elsayed-2f99c6e065402f730fc8925b5a43c788">Associated Press</a>, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel endorsed the congresswoman shortly after McMorrow announced she was suspending her campaign. McMorrow&#8217;s departure also clears the way for other prominent Michigan Democrats who had remained neutral because of their relationships with her to endorse Stevens, whose backers argue she is the party&#8217;s strongest general-election candidate.
El-Sayed, meanwhile, argued McMorrow&#8217;s departure highlighted what he described as establishment efforts to shape the primary. &#8220;We cannot allow the establishment to decide our nominee for us,&#8221; he wrote on <a href="https://x.com/AbdulElSayed/status/2073825501886705756?s=20">X</a> while inviting McMorrow supporters to join his campaign.
Stevens on the other hand <a href="https://x.com/HaleyforMI/status/2073825503769670132?s=20">responded</a> by praising McMorrow as &#8220;an important voice&#8221; in both the Senate race and the Michigan Legislature, saying she looked forward to working with her in the future while continuing to make the case that she is &#8220;the strongest Democrat to defeat Mike Rogers.&#8221;
McMorrow entered the race as one of Michigan Democrats&#8217; rising stars, but her campaign struggled to keep pace financially as millions of dollars in outside spending flowed into the race, much of it boosting Stevens through establishment-aligned super PACs. She emerged as one of El-Sayed&#8217;s most vocal Democratic critics after he campaigned alongside left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who has repeatedly courted controversy with inflammatory comments about Israel and the United States. McMorrow condemned the appearance, comparing Piker to white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes and warning that Democrats should not elevate figures who &#8220;say extremely offensive things in order to generate clicks and views.&#8221; 
The criticism did little to slow El-Sayed&#8217;s momentum, instead her comments coincided with her own decline in the polls. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/michigan-us-senate-election-polls-2026.html">Recent polling</a> showed McMorrow falling into a distant third place behind both Stevens and El-Sayed. The Democratic nominee will face Republican Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost Michigan&#8217;s Senate race in 2024 to Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
With Republicans defending relatively few competitive Senate seats this cycle, Democrats need to hold Michigan while flipping multiple GOP-held seats to regain control of the chamber, making the battleground state&#8217;s primary one of the most closely watched as November draws nearer.

Mallory McMorrow

Democrat Throws Major Curveball In Battleground Fight That Could Decide Senate

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