Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed faced a series of questions from CNN host Jake Tapper during a Sunday interview that focused on his past comments about Israel, Iran, and divisions within the Democratic Party, as reported by Townhall.

El-Sayed is seeking the Democratic nomination for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat. Recent polling has shown a competitive race between El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens as both candidates campaign for the nomination.

During the interview, Tapper first asked El-Sayed about comments made by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani regarding the Democratic Party's relationship with supporters of Israel.

Tapper referenced an interview in which Mamdani said that Democrats who receive support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) remain welcome within the party.

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Tapper contrasted those remarks with comments El-Sayed previously made on CNN, in which he suggested support for Israel could be attributed to AIPAC influence rather than Democratic views on human rights.

"So, it sounds as though — and correct me if I'm wrong — it sounds as though you and Mayor Mamdani disagree about how big this tent should be, whether there's room … in the tent for Israel supporters," Tapper said.

El-Sayed responded by saying that "there's always room in the tent for folks."

He then criticized the line of questioning.

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"Every time I come on CNN, you guys ask me the same questions about these theoretical rights of existence, or whether or not I agree with the mayor of New York," El-Sayed said.

The interview later shifted to comments El-Sayed reportedly made following the death of Iran's Supreme Leader. Tapper cited audio that he said was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

"20 weeks ago, when Iran's supreme leader was killed, you told your staff, according to audio obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, 'There are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today. So like, I just don't want to comment on Khamenei at all.'"

Tapper continued by explaining why he was asking about the remarks.

"I thought that quote was interesting because the Ayatollah has killed tens of thousands of innocent Iranians, not to mention the proxies that Iran has funded that have killed innocent civilians all over the Middle East."

"Why were you worried about offending people who support the Ayatollah?"

El-Sayed did not directly answer that question and instead turned the discussion toward U.S. military involvement overseas.

"Jake, on a day where we're mourning the loss of two more service members in a war we never should have fought, I think all of us ought to step back and ask whether or not everybody in Michigan, frankly, everybody in America, shouldn't be sad about the fact that this president, backed by the prime minister of a foreign government, took us to a war we had no business fighting in."

"So, yeah, I didn't want to comment on it then, because it's a ridiculous pretext."

"And now you're asking me about the Ayatollah, who's dead, by the way, and you're not asking me about the service members who've died."

"You're not asking me about whether or not this war should have ever been fought. You're not asking me about whether or not the costs that are being borne by Michiganders in the tax dollars we pay, or the gas prices that are insane right now, are worth it…"

Tapper followed up by returning to his original question.

"I was specifically asking you about comments you didn't want to make, because you didn't want to offend people in Dearborn, which is in Michigan…"

The interview highlighted policy differences and foreign policy issues that have become part of the Democratic primary campaign in Michigan.

Questions surrounding Israel, Iran, and Middle East policy have drawn increased attention in the race, particularly as candidates seek support from different constituencies across the state.

Neither Tapper nor El-Sayed moved beyond the exchange during that portion of the interview, and the discussion concluded after Tapper reiterated the basis for his question regarding El-Sayed's previous remarks.

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