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Mike Rogers has perfect response to Abdul El-Sayed ‘hates Mackinac’ hot mic debacle

August 8, 2026 | | Print Article

As hatred for “one of the most beloved places in Michigan” went viral, Abdul El-Sayed chose to double down, providing more fodder for his Senate opponent to court Democrats.

Despite the positions of both the Democratic Socialists of America and Islamists running antithetical to America, including the latter desiring to subjugate and impose a jizya — or worse –on non-Muslims, the Democratic Party has continued to nominate such radicals for elected office.

While some have seen enough to bail on toeing the party line, a hot mic moment from Democrat Senate nominee El-Sayed’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign was seen as an opportunity to draw more voters to the GOP as the son of an Egyptian immigrant declared, “I hate Mackinac so much.”

Pulled by The Midwesterner from a 2020 documentary about his campaign, El-Sayed could be heard saying as he walked along a pier as well as a tree-lined street dotted with Victorian homes as a horse-drawn carriage went by, “It’s funny cause, like, if we win, this is gonna be, like, the summer home. I’m just gonna be like, every time I’ve ever come here, I’ve hated it. Why am I here?”

Among those sharing the clip with views climbing in the millions since Friday as the End Wokeness X account deemed Mackinac “the most American place in MI,” Texas Rep. Brandon Gill (R) wrote, “This guy is going to spend the next three months telling Michiganders that he’s running to make their lives more affordable, but what he really wants to do is import a zillion more foreigners so they can build a Learing Center near you.”

Rather than apologize or spin his past remarks, El-Sayed leaned into his hatred, posting Friday afternoon, “Not sure about ‘End Wokeness,’ but I don’t think the most ‘American place in MI’ can be a place that…bans cars,” to which End Wokeness responded, “Go ahead, double down on attacking one of the most beloved places in Michigan … Let’s see how that goes over.”

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Following the unapologetic hatred, Republican rival former Rep. Mike Rogers countered hate with admiration as he shared a picture enjoying handcrafted ice cream from Mackinac’s Guernsey Farms Dairy with the caption, “There’s no place like Mackinac.”

He also appealed to Democrats, “If you’re among the majority of Democratic voters that woke up on Wednesday feeling hopeless because the person who won does not represent your values, just know there is still hope.”

Reiterating “you have a home with us” as he rattled off issues where the left has disenfranchised voters, Rogers went on, “And to the vast majority of people across Michigan who do not want to throw their support behind a campaign filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for violence and the views that are out of touch with your values, you have a home with us.”

“The fight is for the very soul of our nation,” the former lawmaker reminded.

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Meanwhile, the clip continued to be leveraged to cement how anti-American El-Sayed appeared to be as reactions included Commentary Magazine editor John Podhoretz writing, “Abdul el-Sayed is a repellant terror-loving anti-Semite–and that’s not even the worst thing about him. He hates Mackinac Island, one of the most wonderful places on earth. A person who hates Mackinac Island has had his soul ripped from his body.”

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Kevin Haggerty
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