In a 2016 speech that is making the rounds on social media today, Abdul El-Sayed described cars as the ‘modern day cigarette.’
That should go over well… in Michigan.
Who says Democrats are out of touch with the people they want to represent?
The Midwesterner reports:
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed agreed that “cars are the modern-day cigarette” during a 2016 speech in Boston, adding to a series of past remarks criticizing everything from American football to Fourth of July fireworks.
El-Sayed, who was serving as director of the Detroit Health Department at the time, made the remark while discussing the auto industry’s role in Detroit.
“Detroit is Motown. It’ll also be the Motor City,” El-Sayed said. “Cars are a big deal in Detroit whether or not you like them.”
“One person made an argument to me that I probably agree with,” he continued. “Cars are the modern-day cigarette. They’re just like this, like, why do we do it this way?”
Despite his antipathy toward automobiles, the Wayne County firebrand received the United Autoworkers of America endorsement last June.
Earlier in the speech, El-Sayed argued Detroit’s development around the automobile helped shape the city.
“Who built Detroit? The Fords, the Sloans, right? The Dodges of the world,” El-Sayed said. “And what did they want to tell everybody? You can have a car and have a great life, right? So they built the entire city around the car. That’s why Detroit looks like this now.”
See the video below:
In 2016, Abdul El-Sayed told a group in Boston, “Cars are the modern-day cigarette,” and admitted they are “a big deal in Detroit”: pic.twitter.com/I8PCc3VADG
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) September 22, 2026
The far left has been working to end the fossil fuels industry and cars are certainly part of that.
They will not be happy until only the rich can afford electric vehicles and everyone else is forced to use public transportation.
Are the people of Michigan paying attention?
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