Abdul-El Sayed, a Democrat, Has an Unlikely Defender: Tucker Carlson
Mr. Carlson, the far-right podcaster, has promoted Dr. El-Sayed’s comments and sharply criticized his Republican rival in a key Senate race. Strategists are scratching their heads.
Tucker Carlson, the influential far-right podcaster, lives in Maine and spent more than three decades defending the Republican Party before leaving it this year over his opposition to the war with Iran. He is known for his nativist rhetoric and once said immigrants were making the United States “ poorer and dirtier. ”
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a son of Egyptian immigrants, lives in Michigan and has spent his adult life pushing for progressive causes. Now Dr. El-Sayed is the Democratic Party’s nominee in a pivotal Senate race, running on a left-wing platform that calls for universal health care and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Yet, in a striking twist that underscores his shifting politics, Mr. Carlson has taken to defending Dr. El-Sayed. Both are vocal critics of the Israeli government and the war with Iran.
In recent weeks, Mr. Carlson has repeatedly spoken in positive terms about Dr. El-Sayed and castigated his Republican opponent, former Representative Mike Rogers, a critic-turned-ally of President Trump with hawkish foreign policy views.
“I wouldn’t vote for Mike Rogers at gunpoint,” Mr. Carlson said on his podcast this month, adding, “There’s no one who should be farther from a position of power than Mike Rogers.”
