SouthernWorldwide.com – A recently resurfaced video clip has brought renewed attention to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s past criticisms of law enforcement, even as he attempts to distance himself from the “defund the police” movement.
During a 2018 gubernatorial campaign speech at Harvard, El-Sayed articulated his views on policing, stating, “We have a system of policing that seems to want to police on top of people rather than police with people.” He further elaborated on his concerns regarding profiling within the state’s police force.
El-Sayed’s remarks suggested a belief that law enforcement practices were influenced by appearance. “The probability of closing a murder in Detroit is extremely low. And yet the cops will pick on you because you look a particular kind of way,” he stated during the address.
These past statements are gaining traction as El-Sayed has been actively removing social media posts that advocated for criticisms against law enforcement. This move aims to present a different image of his views on Michigan police, predating the widespread “Defund the Police” movement that gained prominence in 2020.
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Despite El-Sayed’s stated rejection of divisive political labels, such as pitting “left” against “right,” his messaging has drawn national attention for pushing the boundaries of typical party stances on various issues.
A central theme of El-Sayed’s campaign is advocating for an expanded role for government. His platform includes proposals to lower housing costs, support for Medicare for All, opposition to corporate tax loopholes, and a commitment to tuition-free higher education.
Furthermore, El-Sayed has voiced support for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
However, like many Democrats, El-Sayed has sought to distance himself from explicit criticisms of local police departments. This strategic shift away from the “defund the police” stance follows the significant public outcry after the death of George Floyd in 2020. While the movement initially energized Democrats toward greater police accountability, it later became a political challenge amidst rising crime rates in cities that adopted similar policies.
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El-Sayed has made a concerted effort to erase any digital ties to the “defund the police” movement from his social media presence.
Evidence of his past stance includes a June 2020 post on X (formerly Twitter), written just weeks after George Floyd’s death. In this post, El-Sayed wrote, “Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty & WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, & housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about.”
This particular post has since been deleted. El-Sayed has reportedly declined to provide an explanation for its removal.
Although many of his posts advocating for “defunding the police” have been taken down, some of El-Sayed’s earlier comments from his 2018 gubernatorial campaign indicate that his concerns about police conduct predated George Floyd’s death.
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In his Harvard address, El-Sayed also highlighted disparities in the justice system. “We incarcerate 11% more people in the state of Michigan than the national average. We’re way better at violating people’s bodies for petty crime than we are in policing violations of their bodies for serious crime,” he said.
