Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed traded personal attacks and accusations during a heated Michigan U.S. Senate debate Thursday night, clashing over everything from affordability, the war in Iran and U.S. support for Israel to their respective financial dealings and personal backgrounds. The contentious showdown in Grand Rapids marked the first time the two candidates faced off onstage ahead of November's closely watched election after Rogers declined to participate in a debate last month hosted by FOX 2 Detroit, citing concerns about the moderator's impartiality.
At the top of Thursday's debate, what began as a discussion about affordability quickly devolved into personal attacks, with Rogers repeatedly questioning El-Sayed's medical credentials and accusing him of misleading voters. El-Sayed accused the former congressman of enriching himself through corporate connections. So, he lied about being a physician.
He lied now about being an Egyptian citizen or not being an Egyptian citizen," Rogers charged during one particularly heated exchange. "That's a con man." EL-SAYED’S SCATHING OBAMA CRITIQUE RESURFACES AHEAD OF JOINT CAMPAIGN RALLY El-Sayed, who holds a medical degree from Columbia University, rejected the attacks and accused Rogers of attempting to distract voters from issues affecting their everyday lives. "He wanted to make this about him or me.
But the question is about you," El-Sayed responded. "Can you afford your gas? Can you afford your groceries under this guy who's going to rubber stamp everything Donald Trump tells him to rubber stamp?" The candidates also sparred over their personal finances, with El-Sayed repeatedly accusing Rogers of profiting from corporate relationships after leaving Congress and referencing his Florida property and alleged yacht ownership.
Rogers, who denied owning any yachts, countered by questioning El-Sayed's investments and alleged overseas property holdings in the UAE, while also slamming him for accepting money from billionaires despite simultaneously stumping on not taking money from corporate PACs and getting money out of politics. EL-SAYED GRILLED ON PIKER, ISRAEL AND SOCIALIST TIES AFTER MIKE ROGERS SKIPS SENATE DEBATE The exchanges became so heated that moderator Rick Albin repeatedly intervened. "Look, here's the situation.
We've got dozens of questions we want to get to. You can't litigate all of these with 14 different rebuttals," Albin told the candidates. After a commercial break, Albin remarked that, in 30 years of moderating debates, he had never witnessed candidates continue arguing throughout a commercial break.
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