Senate Hopeful Caught Urging Campaign To Avoid Discussing Khamenei Death Because Of ‘Sad’ Muslim Voters

Shocking leaked audio shows a Democratic Senate hopeful in Michigan telling campaign staffers he wanted to dodge questions about the death of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei because, he claimed, some voters in Dearborn were upset about it.

Abdul El-Sayed urged his team to steer clear of weighing in on Khamenei’s killing and instead pivot to attacking President Donald Trump.

“I’m just gonna go straight to pedophilia, frankly,” El-Sayed told staffers about how he’d navigate questions on Khamenei’s death, according to leaked audio from a March 1 campaign strategy session obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

“I’ll just be like, ‘Pedophile president decides that he doesn’t like the front page news, so he decides to take us into another war.’”

Khamenei was killed in Israeli strikes a day earlier, something Iran later confirmed. As an ayatollah, he was also a religious leader under Shia Islam and oversaw an iron-fisted regime that the U.S. has long accused of backing terrorism and repression.

Dearborn has one of the largest concentrations of Arab-Americans and Muslims in the United States. It has also become a political flashpoint, including in the last presidential cycle, when President Trump carried support in pockets of the region amid backlash to Democrats over foreign policy.

HOLY CRAP

Audio obtained by @FreeBeacon shows Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed warning not to make a statement about Khameini’s death because “a lot of people in Dearborn are sad”

MASS DENATURALIZATIONS AND DEPORTATIONS pic.twitter.com/AR9YqhPUw2

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 30, 2026

El-Sayed referenced that dynamic while advising staff to keep the campaign’s message focused.

“I also want to remind you guys that there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today,” he said in the recording. “So, like, I just don’t want to comment on Khamenei at all. Like, I don’t think it’s worth even touching that.”

He argued that reporters would try to bait the campaign into validating the strike.

“We have the moral high ground here,” he said, adding that reporters will “try and bait us into saying, ‘Yeah, but isn’t it justified now that they took [Khamenei] out, right? And I just think, for us, we’ve got to be, like, ‘no.’”

The audio also captures El-Sayed floating an attack line aimed at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“You know what benefits from the war? It benefits Israel, who has captured too many of our politicians through AIPAC contributions,” he said.

El-Sayed, a physician, is generally seen as the most progressive of the major Democrats running to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters. He is competing in the primary against Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens.

Republicans view the seat as a major pickup opportunity and are rallying behind former Rep. Mike Rogers, who has Trump’s backing.

RELATED: NEW: Trump Unveils Jaw-Dropping Proposal For Strait Of Hormuz: ‘Me And The Ayatollah!’

The Post contacted El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.

Campaign attorneys for El-Sayed contacted the Washington Free Beacon before publication and said they are considering legal action related to the recording.

RELATED: Ayatollah Khamenei’s Wife Dies After Injuries From Airstrikes

“The campaign is considering its legal options against the individual in question,” the lawyers wrote. “Given these circumstances, the campaign expects that you will take this into account in determining whether to proceed with any reporting on this matter.”

After Khamenei’s death, Iran’s leadership elevated his son, Mojtaba, to the top role. Mojtaba has not appeared publicly since, and Trump told The Post this week he is believed to be “in extraordinarily bad shape.”

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