By One of CNN’s most prominent liberal commentators is warning Michigan voters about Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed — and he is not mincing words.
Van Jones, a CNN senior political commentator and former Obama administration official, called El-Sayed’s position on Israel “insane” and warned that his foreign-policy views are “incredibly dangerous” during an appearance on the Ask Haviv Anything podcast. Jones and El-Sayed are both CNN contributors, and Jones emphasized that his criticism was not coming from someone unfamiliar with the Michigan Democrat.
Michigan voters please pay attention pic.twitter.com/dR8jM0xwf6
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) September 1, 2026
“Abdul, who — you know, I work with at CNN, I know Abdul — his positions on Israel in foreign policy are insane,” Jones said. “They’re not reasonable reactions to anything.”
Former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl, now an analyst for TNT and CBS, circulated the clip Tuesday with a simple message for voters in the state:
“Michigan voters please pay attention.”
Jones was careful to distinguish El-Sayed’s position from the growing criticism of Israel that has become common inside the Democratic Party.
He said Democrats can reasonably debate whether American military assistance should come with conditions because of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. He even said he could understand an argument that Israel should pay for its own weapons rather than receive American military aid.
But that is not what El-Sayed is proposing, Jones said.
“Abdul’s position is a total and complete arms embargo against the state of Israel, including defensive weapons,” Jones said. “That’s an insane position.”
Jones said El-Sayed’s policy would prevent Israel from purchasing American-made defensive systems even when they are used to intercept missiles and rockets aimed at Israeli civilians.
He then pointed directly to former President Barack Obama’s support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system.
“You’re telling me you’re smarter than Barack Obama? You have better ideas about foreign policy than Barack Obama and you want to … take away Israel’s — half the world’s Jews — ability to defend themselves?”
That criticism matters because Jones is hardly a Republican surrogate attacking the Democratic nominee from across the aisle. He served in the Obama administration and remains one of CNN’s best-known Democratic commentators. He also knows El-Sayed personally through their work at the network.
And El-Sayed’s position on Israel is not some newly discovered campaign controversy.
The former Wayne County health director has made opposition to American military support for Israel a central part of his political identity. He has accused Israel of genocide and apartheid and has opposed supplying the country with military weapons, including defensive systems. He has argued that American tax dollars should instead be spent at home.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Aug. 4 Democratic primary after a campaign in which Israel became one of the race’s defining issues. He will face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
As New Conservative Post previously reported, El-Sayed’s victory was even celebrated by Ikhwan Online, a website whose social media account identifies it as the Muslim Brotherhood’s official outlet. The publication portrayed Stevens’ defeat as a victory over supporters of Israel and specifically praised El-Sayed’s campaign against American military assistance to the Jewish state.
The translated headline was difficult to miss:
“Abdul Rahman al-Sayyid conquers the Zionists and runs for the Senate.”
The controversy has followed El-Sayed into the general election.
He has also faced criticism over his response to the March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, when he said “hurt people hurt people” while discussing the attacker’s reported grievances involving Israel. El-Sayed has since apologized to Michigan’s Jewish Democratic Caucus, saying he regretted causing additional pain and that the immediate aftermath of the attack was not the appropriate time to provide such context.
Jones had previously suggested that El-Sayed had an opportunity after winning the primary to reassure Jewish voters and move away from his most sweeping position on Israeli weapons.
His latest comments suggest he does not believe that has happened.
“From a purely foreign policy perspective, these people are incredibly dangerous,” Jones said.
For Republicans, criticism of El-Sayed’s Israel policy is expected. Coming from a former Obama administration official who works alongside him at CNN is considerably harder for Democrats to dismiss as another partisan attack.
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