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Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed declines to rank Israel and Iran threats in debate

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, all right-leaning.

10 articles in total, 2 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers clashed in a televised debate in Grand Rapids on Thursday, hosted by NewsNation and WOOD-TV. Asked repeatedly whether Israel or Iran poses a greater threat to the United States, El-Sayed called the question a “ridiculous hypothetical” and said both countries have proven dangerous in their own way. He said he does not consider Israel an ally if it draws the United States into wars it does not need to fight, and he said he would vote to withhold defensive weapons from Israel if it were attacked by Iran or another state actor. Rogers pressed him over the lack of a statement marking the third anniversary of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack. El-Sayed said he had condemned the attack and accused Rogers of turning others’ pain into politics. Some Jewish Democrats have questioned whether they can support him.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The debate took place Thursday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, between Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, hosted by NewsNation and WOOD-TV.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    TheBlaze

  2. El-Sayed refused to say whether Israel or Iran poses a greater threat to the United States, calling the question a “ridiculous hypothetical.”

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    TheBlaze

  3. El-Sayed said Israel and Iran have both proven dangerous in their own way.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart News

  4. El-Sayed said he does not consider Israel an ally if it draws the United States into wars it does not need to fight.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  5. El-Sayed said he would vote to withhold defensive weapons from Israel if it were attacked by Iran or another state actor.

    One outletBreitbart News· Far Right

Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

  1. Rogers pressed El-Sayed over the lack of a statement marking the third anniversary of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, and El-Sayed said he had condemned the attack.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

  2. Some Jewish Democrats have questioned whether they can support El-Sayed, according to reporting.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    TheBlaze

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Whether El-Sayed refused to say which threat is greater.

    Coverage describes him as refusing to say or dodging the question, while he called it a “ridiculous hypothetical” and argued it was not a fair choice.

  • Whether El-Sayed condemned the October 7 attack.

    He said he had condemned it and accused Rogers of turning others’ pain into politics; critics cited the absence of a statement marking the anniversary.

  • Whether El-Sayed refuses to condemn Hamas and other terrorist groups.

    RedState says he refuses to condemn them; the debate reporting says he objected to Rogers’ demands that he condemn named groups.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    No coverage yet

    No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    5 outlets · 1 opinion

    Right-side headlines focus on El-Sayed’s refusal to rank Israel and Iran and on his stance toward Israel, and the Far Right outlets RedState and TheBlaze use the sharpest terms, such as “terrorist problem” and “worst fears,” while the Right-rated New York Post and Washington Examiner use more descriptive wording.

    Guy Benson slams el Sayed’s debate answer on Israel-Iran conflict: ‘Shouldn’t be difficult at all to answer’
    Washington ExaminerRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right12

    truly an insane responseShould Be Disqualifyinglaced into himstunning

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    truly an insane responseMore neutral: a response the writer strongly disagrees with

    Labels the answer as insane rather than describing what the candidate said.

    This is truly an insane response.

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    Should Be DisqualifyingMore neutral: Criticizes El-Sayed’s response to this Iran question

    Calls for the candidate to be disqualified, which is a judgement the reporting does not establish.

    El-Sayed's Response to This Iran Question Should Be Disqualifying for Anyone Running for Senate

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    laced into himMore neutral: criticized him

    Describes criticism with a verb of attack that adds force beyond the reported content.

    Rogers blasted El-Sayed for his lack of clarity on terrorism and laced into him for not releasing a statement marking the three-year anniversary of Hamas' deadly…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    stunningMore neutral: notable

    Presents the debate moment as dramatic rather than describing it.

    El-Sayed refuses to say whether Iran is more of a threat than Israel in stunning Michigan Senate debate moment

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 8 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    dodgesMore neutral: does not answer

    The verb presents a refusal to answer as evasion, which is a judgement about his motive, while the body text simply reports that he did not name a country.

    El Sayed dodges question on whether Israel or Iran poses greater threat to US: ‘Both of them have…

    Used byWashington Examiner (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    Muslim leftistMore neutral: Democratic candidate

    The label combines a religious identity with an ideological tag before the candidate’s own words are weighed, which adds a judgement that a neutral report would not make.

    Muslim leftist Michigan U.S.

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    terrorist problemMore neutral: Has faced criticism over his statements on terrorist groups

    The description repeats the terrorism label as a fact about the candidate rather than as a charge made by critics.

    Abdul El-Sayed has a terrorist problem.

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    It Exploded for the Entire World to SeeMore neutral: Drew wider attention

    The phrase presents a campaign-trail exchange as a public explosion, which overstates its scale.

    And Just Now, It Exploded for the Entire World to See.

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    basically confirmsMore neutral: reflects concerns among

    The verb presents the debate as proof of a view about the candidate, rather than as an event that reflects concerns.

    El-Sayed basically confirms Jewish voters' worst fears about him during chippy debate

    Used byTheBlaze (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    worst fearsMore neutral: concerns

    The phrase dramatizes the reaction of Jewish voters beyond what the debate reporting establishes.

    El-Sayed basically confirms Jewish voters' worst fears about him during chippy debate

    Used byTheBlaze (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    chippyMore neutral: heated

    The word is a loaded descriptor of the debate’s tone, where a neutral word was available.

    El-Sayed basically confirms Jewish voters' worst fears about him during chippy debate

    Used byTheBlaze (Far Right)

  • Vague attribution

    experts sayingMore neutral: one political science professor said

    The phrase attributes a prediction to unnamed experts, and the excerpt does not say who they are or how many there are.

    …debate — with some Jewish Democrats questioning whether they can support him, and experts saying his words could come back to haunt him.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

5 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • El-Sayed’s refusal to say whether Israel or Iran is the greater threat
  • His stance on Israel as an ally and on defensive weapons
  • Doubts among Jewish voters and Jewish Democrats
  • No statement marking the October 7 anniversary
See the 6 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Oct 8, 7:59 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightOct 8, 7:59 PM EDT
  2. Washington Free BeaconFar RightOct 8, 9:15 PM EDT
  3. Washington ExaminerRightOct 8, 9:15 PM EDT
  4. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 8, 9:29 PM EDT
  5. TheBlazeFar RightOct 9, 12:19 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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