Pelosi Calls El-Sayed's Israel Views Wrong, Then Backs His Senate Bid

Nancy Pelosi publicly called the past comments of her party's Michigan Senate nominee on Israel "wrong." Then she urged support for him anyway.

Appearing on Donny Deutsch's "On Brand" podcast, Pelosi said that past comments by Abdul El-Sayed questioning Israel's status as a Jewish state went beyond concerning. On Friday, Newsweek reported, Pelosi posted on X urging support for "our Democratic Senate nominees, including @AbdulElSayed," and her spokesperson issued a statement asking people in Michigan and across the country to help elect him. Newsweek's updated reporting on the X post appeared only in a search snippet, and the post has not been verified directly.

The sequence matters because Michigan is closely divided. El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in a state that Donald Trump carried by 1.4 points in 2024, and Israel has been a recurring issue around El-Sayed's candidacy.

What Pelosi Said on the Podcast

According to Newsweek, Deutsch told Pelosi he felt a wing of the Democratic Party held views he considers antisemitic. Pelosi asked him for examples. Deutsch pointed to El-Sayed, saying the Michigan nominee does not believe Israel should be a Jewish state, and called that concerning. Other coverage of the exchange reported that Deutsch named New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as well.

Pelosi's answer was blunt.

"No, it's more than concerning. It's wrong."

She also said El-Sayed's comments were not a reflection of Democrats in Congress, and she pushed back on the idea that antisemitism is widespread among congressional Democrats. Newsweek also quoted her saying of the Michigan candidate: "This new person in Michigan, we'll see if he gets elected to the Congress." Newsweek tied that line to the endorsement that followed. Pelosi's exact words about Mamdani were not in the reports reviewed for this story. The Times of Israel also carried an item on the remarks in its live coverage, though its text was not available for this story.

The date of the podcast is unclear. Some coverage places the appearance on Thursday, Oct. 29, while the endorsement came Friday, Oct. 30. The audio, a transcript and the X post were not reviewed directly, so the quotes here come from published reports.

The Record Pelosi Was Responding To

El-Sayed has called the war in Gaza a "genocide" and has said he does not consider Israel a U.S. ally, Newsweek reported. In an interview with Mehdi Hasan, asked whether he disputes Israel's right to exist, he said he does not, and he drew a narrower line:

"I just dispute the idea that you should have an ethnostate."

That distinction is at the center of the dispute. Newsweek's account has him denying that he questions Israel's right to exist, while Deutsch characterized his position as not believing Israel should be a Jewish state. The date of the Hasan interview was not established in the notes. In May, in an appearance with Jewish supporters, he reportedly said he "struggled" to answer the question and suggested a Jewish state conflicts with liberal values. In August, on Morning Joe, he pledged to fight antisemitism "in all of its forms."

Mamdani has his own history with the question. In a June 28 interview with ABC News, he said he supports Israel as a state with equal rights but declined to endorse it as a Jewish state.

The Turn Toward Party Unity

A statement from Pelosi spokesperson Nicholas Martin, sent through a Democratic Party spokesperson, said Pelosi urges everyone in Michigan and nationwide to support El-Sayed and help elect him, according to Newsweek. A Newsweek sub-headline on an updated version of its story reads "Pelosi Softens El-Sayed Stance on Israel Remarks: 'Democrats Are United,'" though the article text reviewed for this story did not include that quote. Whether Pelosi softened or withdrew her criticism is Newsweek's framing and is contested, since the reports show her endorsement and her criticism side by side.

What Comes Next

Newsweek said it sought comment from El-Sayed's campaign outside business hours, and no response was reported. No response from El-Sayed or Mamdani has been found. Whether Republicans or the Rogers campaign make use of Pelosi's words is the next thing to watch.