Kristen Welker Presses Rahm Emanuel on Whether He Backs Democratic Socialist Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan Senate Race

"Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker refused to drop the question Sunday morning as Democratic strategist Rahm Emanuel sidestepped whether he supports democratic socialist Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Senate race.

Emanuel, who served as White House chief of staff under former President Barack Obama, said he was not comfortable with El-Sayed describing Israel's campaign in Gaza as a "genocide." That remark set off Welker's line of questioning.

"If you're going to use that term, then we gotta to have a conversation about Sudan. We gotta have a conversation about Ukraine. We gotta have a conversation about the Armenians. We gotta have a conversation about what happened in Cambodia. Having one conversation about one country means you are politicizing a term that has huge and historic moral obligations," Emanuel said.

Welker then turned the question back to the race itself.

"Let me ask you this, because given El-Sayed's position, given how you're saying how complex this issue is, will you endorse Abdul El-Sayed?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's a complex issue," Emanuel replied.

Welker pressed again: "Will you endorse Abdul El-Sayed? Do you support him given that position?"

Emanuel answered by pointing to his loyalty to the party rather than to El-Sayed specifically.

"We have massive disagreements. I support the Democrat party. I support the Democratic candidate," he said.

He added that he would be heading to Michigan again, noting he had been there repeatedly to help the state's gubernatorial candidate.

Emanuel then shifted to the Supreme Court, saying he supports the Democratic Party's position in part because, as he put it, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he is thinking about retiring.

"I'm not playing around anymore with what they did under President Obama on the Supreme Court or what this Supreme Court did giving President Trump a get out of jail card as it relates to all the corruption which is why you're seeing this," Emanuel said. "So the Supreme Court —"

Welker cut in to bring the conversation back on track.

"But just to be clear do you—" she began.

"I just said it, I will support —" Emanuel responded.

"Do you support Abdul El-Sayed?" Welker asked once more.

Emanuel finally gave a direct answer, while downplaying its significance.

"My support's not import— I said yes. My support's not important. It's the Michigan voters's support that's important. And he needs to work on that and earn their vote," he said.

The exchange highlighted the tension between Emanuel's stated disagreements with El-Sayed and his commitment to backing the Democratic candidate.
Emanuel made clear he takes issue with El-Sayed's use of the word "genocide" to describe Israel's campaign in Gaza, arguing that applying the term to one country while ignoring conflicts such as Sudan, Ukraine, the Armenians and Cambodia politicizes a term carrying deep moral weight.

Still, after repeated questioning from Welker, the former Obama chief of staff said yes, he would support El-Sayed, while stressing that the decision ultimately rests with Michigan voters and that El-Sayed must work to earn their votes.