Frozen copy retrieved 2026-08-03T01:50:00Z for audit 2026-08-03T02-09-56Z. Original URL: https://www.foxnews.com/media/michigan-senate-candidate-endorsed-aoc-bernie-sanders-insists-hes-not-socialist. The Stochastic Parrot does not host or redistribute; this snapshot exists solely so that quoted spans remain verifiable if the original page changes. Character offsets below index into this plain text; highlighted spans are the quotes cited in the audit.

Michigan Senate candidate endorsed by AOC and Bernie Sanders insists he's not a socialist

Fox News · back to the audit
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed insisted during an interview on Tuesday that he was "simply not a socialist," when pressed on his close relationship with socialist figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

"Let me ask you about democratic socialism because you have a new ad with AOC in the ad," MS NOW's Jen Psaki asked. "You've been — you're very close to Bernie Sanders. You've had a number of these very popular officials come out and campaign for you. You've also said that you're not a democratic socialist. You describe yourself as a capitalist who understands capitalism."

"But what is the difference? What are they getting wrong?" she continued.

"Because I'm simply not a socialist," El-Sayed said. "I believe in science. For me, you got to bring results. I've studied a lot of the solutions that I fight for, things like Medicare for All, things like rethinking the way that our financial system implies that corporate CEOs are more interested in a quarterly bottom line than they are in the long-term sustainability of their business."

He said that the U.S. operates in a monopoly or oligopoly when it comes to markets people are "forced" to participate in, adding, "I know that capitalism works, I just know that it does not work when you have monopolies or oligopolies."

Alyssa Brouillet, the communications director for Rogers' campaign, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "We all know that if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. This election is about crazy versus common sense. Mike Rogers will hold the line against the Left's socialist takeover and ensure common sense prevails this November."

El-Sayed has attended Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) events over the years.

Between 2017 and 2020, El-Sayed attended and spoke at six events held by the DSA, including a 2019 fundraiser which he headlined. El-Sayed has distanced himself from the DSA in interviews and has previously outright rejected being labeled as a "socialist."

"I'm not technically or practically DSA," El-Sayed told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month. In an interview with CNN, he similarly stated that "I am not somebody who is a socialist. I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated."