The Free Press · October 2026 · By Audrey Fahlberg

El-Sayed Questioned on Leaked Call Remarks at Grand Rapids Gaggle

• At a press gaggle in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Thursday, October 8, 2026, reporter Audrey Fahlberg asked Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee, whether he regrets remarks he reportedly made on a private campaign strategy call in March.
• According to The Washington Free Beacon, El-Sayed said on the call: “I just don’t want to comment” on the assassination of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, because “there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today” about his death. That is the Free Beacon’s reporting of the leaked audio, not a verified transcript.
• When asked, El-Sayed cut in and said he is “just not interested in this dog and pony show” about leaked audio that is “not relevant to people’s lives,” per the reporter’s own account of the exchange.

The piece is paywalled; facts are from the article’s accessible portion. The gaggle exchange is the reporter’s firsthand account; the March-call remarks are The Washington Free Beacon’s reporting, not independently verified here. The Free Press is not affiliated with the Detroit Free Press. Original headline: "Abdul El-Sayed’s Unanswered Questions".