Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., brushed aside personal insults from progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed while sharply criticizing the candidate’s politics after El-Sayed suggested he would back a primary challenge against the Pennsylvania senator.
Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Fetterman responded after being asked about comments El-Sayed made during a donors’ meeting, where he said he would support efforts to challenge Fetterman in a Democratic primary and remarked that putting “one ogre on a pike” would send a message to the rest of the party.
“I never worked out in male modeling, call me Senator Shrek, whatever,” Fetterman said in response to El-Sayed’s remarks.
The Pennsylvania senator then coined a nickname for the Michigan Democrat, referring to him as “Pontiac Platner.”
“But this guy is really the Pontiac Platner and now he’s really running to [be] head of our emerging pro-Hamas wing here in the party,” Fetterman said. “Politically, some of the things that he’s said or done are unacceptable to me.”
Fetterman also questioned why he has become a target of El-Sayed’s criticism.
“I’m not really sure what I’ve really done or voted for that has offended the little guy so much,” he said.
The senator’s comparison to “Pontiac Platner” referenced former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who withdrew from his challenge against Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, earlier this month after a woman he dated in 2021 accused him of rape.
Fetterman has been an outspoken critic of Platner, who was a vocal opponent of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. He drew a parallel between Platner and El-Sayed, who recently referred to Israel as a “rogue state.”
The Pennsylvania Democrat has also criticized members of his own party for supporting candidates such as Platner and El-Sayed. In particular, Fetterman took aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., arguing that Sanders and other progressives helped elevate candidates who have raised concerns among Democratic leaders in Washington about their prospects in this November’s general election.
“This is a serious game that we’re engaging in and these same people like Bernie Sanders and other people created the Platner disaster,” Fetterman said, pointing to Sanders’s endorsement of both Platner and El-Sayed.
After the rape allegation against Platner became public, Sanders called on the former Maine candidate to end his Senate campaign.
The latest clash between Fetterman and El-Sayed follows comments the Michigan Senate candidate made during a Zoom meeting with supporters. According to Politico, which obtained audio of the meeting, El-Sayed said he would be willing to support primary challenges against Democrats he believes are out of step with his political views.
“If I win … well y’all came at me so now I get to come at you, and you know, primarying people like John Fetterman, I have no problem to do that,” El-Sayed said.
He continued by saying, “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike and then everyone else gets the message and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different.”
The exchange underscores the growing tensions within the Democratic Party as disagreements over candidates and political priorities continue to play out ahead of November’s elections.
