Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday ridiculed Republican rival Mike Rogers after he skipped out on a town hall event hosted by FOX 2 Detroit.
Shortly after the event, a reporter asked El-Sayed what he thought of “the elephant in the room, or lack thereof,” in reference to Rogers’ absence.
“The elephant was not in the room,” the Michigan Democrat replied. “The elephant decided that they did not want to be in the room. The elephant cowarded out.”
Reporter: The elephant in the room tonight, or lack thereof—
El-Sayed: No, the elephant was not in the room. The elephant decided that they did not want to be in the room. The elephant cowarded out. Although the elephants were all in the room in Dallas.
It’s wild to me that… pic.twitter.com/cd9OYD5smM
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 16, 2026
El-Sayed noted that Rogers was able to attend President Donald Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas last week, even as he skipped out on a chance to talk directly with Michigan voters.
“It’s wild to me that this guy is more interested in going to speak for, what, six minutes and 48 seconds in Dallas,” he said, “than he is to have 60 minutes with Michiganders here in Detroit. But it tells you who he is. He’s a coward.”
El-Sayed then expressed mock empathy for his Republican opponent.
“[Rogers] knows that the minute he and I have to actually share the same stage and share podiums, he’s not going to have much to say,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, I’m going to hold him accountable to his record, which is awful on all the things… If I were him, I wouldn’t debate me either.”
A reported then asked El-Sayed if he bought Rogers’ excuse for not being at the event.
“He’s probably at a corporate fundraiser,” he replied. “What was his excuse? He’s in Florida? He got stuck in Dallas? He’s in all the places that are not Michigan? What’s his excuse, I don’t even know what it is.”
In an interview with CBS News Detroit published Wednesday, Rogers defended his decision to skip the event, and pointed out that his campaign had never agreed to attend.
The Michigan Republican also reiterated his concerns about Fox 2 Detroit Roop Raj, whom he alleged is biased against his campaign.
“When you have someone who’s already picked their candidate,” said Rogers, “you can’t have a two-on-one event in a TV studio.”
El-Sayed and Rogers are both scheduled to take part in two debates in October.
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