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A Farmington school board member is drawing criticism for comments she made about Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, one of Michigan’s Democratic candidates for Senate.
Farmington school board member Angie Smith was at a campaign event last week for Rep. Haley Stevens and took a moment to share why she’s supporting Stevens. But some of the comments she made about Stevens’ opponent, El-Sayed, are drawing criticism.
Angie Smith Farmington comment
What they're saying:
"We need someone to represent all of us, not just one race, but all races," she said to "Michigan Chronicle" journalist Sam Robinson. He then asked her to clarify that comment, and she said El-Sayed doesn’t seem to know how "to work the room."
"Don’t come out speaking only Arabic; don’t come out with your Arabic music on; represent everyone," she said.
Images: Angie Smith on Twitter courtesy Sam Robinson, and El-Sayed at FOX 2 on July 27, 2026.
Abdul El-Sayed Senate candidate
For context:
El-Sayed is Muslim and was born and raised in southeast Michigan by his father, who was an Egyptian immigrant.
RELATED: Watch: Haley Stevens, Abdul El-Sayed debate at FOX 2
What they're saying:
FOX 2 reached out to El-Sayed regarding Smith's comments and he said, "Everyone is welcome in the movement we’re building to get money out of politics, get money back in pockets, and pass Medicare for all."
CAIR responds
Smith’s comments have gone viral, with more than 5.6 million video views on Twitter. They’ve also gotten the attention of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI).
What they're saying:
CAIR-MI called Smith’s comments an "anti-Arab racist outburst."
"We condemn Smith’s inaccurate and misguided comments, which have undertones of anti-Arab racism," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. "Given the history of racist tropes deployed against African Americans in politics, it is disgusting that Smith would replicate such for political purposes."
Smith is African American, as is Walid, who issued CAIR’s statement.
The other side:
Smith is joining Charlie Langton Wednesday on "Detroit Talk City" to talk more about the comments.
The show airs at 4 p.m. You can watch live on FOX 2 or stream on FOX Local, or watch in the video player above.
This story will be updated with video from the show and her comments.
Michigan Senate race
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Pulse of Politics: Discussing the U.S. Senate debate
Oakland University Political Science Chair Dr. Peter Trumbore and Pulse Anchor and Democratic U.S. Senate Debate Moderator Roop Raj join Pulse of Politics host Aaron Jordan to break down the debate between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens, as well as the midterms as a whole.
Meanwhile:
El-Sayed was at the FOX 2 studio earlier this week debating Stevens. You can get a recap and watch clips from the debate here.
Michigan’s primary is next week on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from Sam Robinson’s Twitter account, CAIR-MI and FOX 2 Detroit.