Michigan Senate candidate endorsed by AOC and Bernie Sanders insists he’s not a socialist

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed insisted during an interview on Tuesday that he was "simply not a socialist," when pressed on his close relationship with socialist figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

"Let me ask you about democratic socialism because you have a new ad with AOC in the ad," MS NOW's Jen Psaki asked. "You've been — you're very close to Bernie Sanders. You've had a number of these very popular officials come out and campaign for you. You've also said that you're not a democratic socialist. You describe yourself as a capitalist who understands capitalism." 

"But what is the difference? What are they getting wrong?" she continued. "I think this is confusing to a lot of people. What are they getting wrong about capitalism, or why don't you consider yourself a member of the democratic socialist movement? Given your proximity in your relationship to all of these officials."

"Because I'm simply not a socialist," El-Sayed said. "I believe in science. For me, you got to bring results. I've studied a lot of the solutions that I fight for, things like Medicare for All, things like rethinking the way that our financial system implies that corporate CEOs are more interested in a quarterly bottom line than they are in the long-term sustainability of their business."

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El-Sayed is running in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens on August 4. The pair debated on Wednesday night and clashed on several issues.

He said that the U.S. operates in a monopoly or oligopoly when it comes to markets people are "forced" to participate in, adding, "I know that capitalism works, I just know that it does not work when you have monopolies or oligopolies."

"So, at the end of the day, it's just a philosophical difference," he continued. "I'm not an ideologue. I'm a lot more interested in empirical results. So, when it comes to Medicare for All, I think that's the best single way to provide folks healthcare in this country." 

"And by the way, public healthcare, the public part, would be the insurance," El-Sayed added. "The healthcare itself stays private. When it comes to investing in our schools or investing in good infrastructure, these are the shared resources that we need so that every single person can actually participate in the economy."

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Psaki pressed him again and noted that socialists would say that they believe in science as well, saying, "If you're the nominee, Mike Rogers and the Republicans are going to try to label you as a democratic socialist. You're going to say you're not. But I'm saying, help us understand what's the difference between your version of capitalism and their version of democratic socialism."

El-Sayed then criticized Rogers, the presumptive Republican nominee for the Michigan Senate race.

"We're so concerned about what they're going to say about us that we forget that we also have mouths and can talk about that," El-Sayed said. "Let's talk about Mike Rogers. Mike Rogers is the worst kind of corporatist."

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Alyssa Brouillet, the communications director for Rogers' campaign, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "We all know that if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. This election is about crazy versus common sense. Mike Rogers will hold the line against the Left’s socialist takeover and ensure common sense prevails this November." 

"It’s no surprise that the same guy who lied about being a physician is lying about everything else," the statement continued. "But while Abdul offers lip-service, Mike Rogers delivers results. Just today, Mike Rogers released a plan to fix our broken healthcare system by improving affordability, accessibility, and transparency of healthcare for working families."  

"This is only one of the many examples of Mike Rogers cleaning up the mess Democrats — like Abdul — created during their 32-year monopoly over Michigan’s two Senate seats," Brouillet added.

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El-Sayed has attended Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) events over the years.

Between 2017 and 2020, El-Sayed attended and spoke at six events held by the DSA, including a 2019 fundraiser which he headlined. El-Sayed has distanced himself from the DSA in interviews and has previously outright rejected being labeled as a "socialist."

"I'm not technically or practically DSA," El-Sayed told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month. In an interview with CNN, he similarly stated that "I am not somebody who is a socialist. I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated."

At the 2019 event, which raised $10,000 for the organization, El-Sayed was described by DSA organizers as "a longtime friend of Detroit DSA." He was photographed smiling next to far-left Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a self-described socialist, behind a table with a poster on it depicting a hand labeled "DSA" choking a snake labeled "capitalism."

El-Sayed’s first recorded appearance at a DSA event was during his run for Michigan governor in 2017. Other DSA events he spoke at focused on Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

Fox News' Robert Schmad contributed to this report.