--- title: "White House calls Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed a communist threat" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-calls-michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-a-communist-threat" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/white-house-calls-michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-a-communist-threat" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-calls-michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-a-communist-threat.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/white-house-calls-michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-a-communist-threat" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-08-11T04:05:22.010Z" source_reported: "2026-08-11T00:34:53.000Z" updated: "2026-08-11T04:05:22.010Z" trust_score: 42 critic_score: 31 hype_score: 67 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-11T06:15:41.636498+00:00" --- # White House calls Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed a communist threat *Social media video highlights his calls to abolish ICE, defund police and expand the Supreme Court* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 42 of 100, higher is better. Only one full report, from Gateway Pundit. - Craft 31 of 100, higher is better. Most digests lack specific detail. - Hype 67 of 100, lower is better. Loaded language in headlines and summaries. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - The White House posted a video on 9 August 2026 compiling Abdul El-Sayed’s past statements on defunding police, abolishing ICE and expanding the Supreme Court. - El-Sayed, who won a Michigan primary last week, has denied being a socialist but has attended at least six Democratic Socialists of America events. - A DSA spokeswoman declined to answer when asked who would catch a rapist if police and prisons were abolished. - Eleven right-rated outlets carried the story; no left- or centre-rated outlet did. On 9 August 2026 the White House posted a video on social media compiling statements by Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan primary winner. The video shows El-Sayed calling for defunding police, abolishing ICE, imposing wealth taxes, expanding the Supreme Court and impeaching former president Donald Trump. The White House caption described El-Sayed and the far-left Democrats as a direct threat to America and its values. El-Sayed has denied being a socialist. He told Fox News in July 2026 that he is not a socialist and believes in capitalism, though regulated. He has attended at least six Democratic Socialists of America events, including one in 2019 where he was photographed with US Representative Rashida Tlaib. Detroit DSA has called him a longtime friend. Separately, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Socialists of America, Frances Gill, declined to answer when asked on live television who would catch a rapist if police and prisons were abolished. The question was put by a news anchor during an interview about defunding law enforcement. ## What the coverage left out No left- or centre-rated outlet carried the story. None of the right-rated digests or the Gateway Pundit report mentioned El-Sayed’s denial that he is a socialist, or his statement that he believes in regulated capitalism. ## Who covered it Shares of the 12 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 0% (0) - Right: 100% (12) 1 of 13 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-11T06:15:41.636498+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 10 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-11T06:30:29.816Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre No separate framing summary. ### Right - All eleven right-rated digests led on the White House video and on the DSA spokeswoman’s refusal to answer the question about rapists. The Gateway Pundit, the only outlet whose full report is printed, called El-Sayed’s positions communist and quoted his past statements verbatim: “F*ck ICE” and “disinvesting in the means of incarcerating someone or killing them on the streets”. It also reported that El-Sayed defended socialist influencer Hasan Piker on NBC’s Meet the Press. - The digests carried the White House’s description of El-Sayed’s views as a direct threat to America. They also reported that El-Sayed has called for defunding police, abolishing ICE, wealth taxes and expanding the Supreme Court. Ten of the eleven digests mentioned the DSA spokeswoman’s refusal to say who would catch a rapist if police were abolished. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - veryLow: 1 - low: 2 - mixed: 9 - unknown: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Politics, Policy, Political News](https://politicom.com.au/dsa-member-has-no-answer-when-asked-what-we-will-do-with-rapists-after-prisons-are-abolished-video) — DSA Member Has No Answer When Asked What We Will Do With Rapists After Prisons Are Abolished - Politics, Policy, Political Views - [Breitbart](https://breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/10/dsa-frances-gill-dodges-rapist-question-abolish-police-prisons) — DSA Leader Dodges Question: Who Catches a Rapist if Police, Prisons Abolished? - [OpsLens](https://opslens.com/if-my-daughter-is-assaulted-and-raped-watch-dsa-spokeswoman-give-absurd-answer-to-defund-the-police-question-worldnetdaily-by-wnd-staff) — ‘If my daughter is assaulted and raped’: Watch DSA spokeswoman give absurd answer to defund-the-police question * WorldNetDaily * by WND Staff - [Louder With Crowder](https://louderwithcrowder.com/dsa-police-defund) — DSA leader agrees that r*** is bad, but isn't sure who to hypothetically call if Democrats defund the police - [WND](https://wnd.com/2026/08/if-my-daughter-is-assaulted-raped-watch-dsa) — ‘If my daughter is assaulted and raped’: Watch DSA spokeswoman give absurd answer to defund-the-police question - [[your]NEWS](https://yournews.com/2026/08/10/7152608/abolish-the-police-democrats-face-their-socialist-problem) — Abolish the Police? Democrats Face Their Socialist Problem - [RedState](https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2026/08/10/dsa-officials-remarks-n2205433) — Watch DSA Official Squirm As She's Grilled on Policies - Her Answers Are Something Else - [Fox News](https://foxnews.com/politics/socialist-leader-squirms-tv-interview-forced-address-push-abolish-prisons-police) — Socialist leader squirms during TV interview when forced to address push to abolish prisons, police - [ussanews.com](https://ussanews.com/2026/08/10/at-the-federalist-socialists-demands-to-abolish-police-and-prisons-will-mean-more-dead-americans) — At The Federalist: Socialists’ Demands To Abolish Police And Prisons Will Mean More Dead Americans - [The Federalist](https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/10/socialists-demands-to-abolish-police-and-prisons-will-mean-more-dead-americans) — Socialists' Demands To Abolish Police Will Mean Dead Americans - [Conservative Review](https://conservativereview.com/socialists-demands-to-abolish-police-and-prisons-will-mean-more-dead-americans-2677679034.html) — Socialists’ Demands To Abolish Police And Prisons Will Mean More Dead Americans - [The Daily Wire](https://dailywire.com/news/dsa-doc-dodges-rape-question-says-more-streetlights-are-better-than-cops) — DSA Doc’s Cop-Free Vision Faces The Question Of What Happens To Rapists - [The Gateway Pundit](https://thegatewaypundit.com/2026/08/watch-white-house-shares-abdul-el-sayed-highlight) — White House Shares Abdul El-Sayed Highlight Reel: Defund Police, Transform Supreme Court, Wealth Tax, Abolish ICE, Impeach Trump, and More ## Questions **What did the White House say about Abdul El-Sayed?** The White House posted a video on 9 August 2026 compiling El-Sayed’s past statements on defunding police, abolishing ICE and expanding the Supreme Court. It described his views as a direct threat to America and the values that define the nation. The video was shared on social media with that caption. **Has Abdul El-Sayed called himself a socialist?** El-Sayed has denied being a socialist. In July 2026 he told Fox News he is not a socialist and believes in capitalism, though regulated. He has attended at least six Democratic Socialists of America events and has been described as a longtime friend of Detroit DSA. **Which outlets carried the story?** Eleven right-rated outlets carried the story, including The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Fox News and The Daily Wire. No left- or centre-rated outlet carried it. The right-rated reports led on the White House video and on a DSA spokeswoman’s refusal to say who would catch a rapist if police were abolished. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-calls-michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-a-communist-threat. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "White House calls Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed a communist threat", https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-calls-michigan-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-a-communist-threat