Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed laid out his foreign policy views in an interview with Mid-Michigan Now on Thursday, calling for Congress to pass a war powers resolution and arguing the United States should see itself as “the principal upholder of international law” rather than a country that makes war on its own terms.
Sinclair Statewide Political Reporter Remington Hernandez asked El-Sayed to address both the ongoing war and his broader foreign policy approach. El-Sayed said the first step would be stripping the current administration of the ability to keep the country engaged in what he called “this stupid war.”
“It’s Congress that declares war, not an errant president who’s doing it, because, well, he’s too dumb to get us out,” El-Sayed said.
He went on to criticize presidents of both parties, naming Donald Trump and George W. Bush, for acting as though they personally embody international law rather than answering to it.
“We’ve got to remember that our job is to be the principal upholder of international law. And, too often, when it comes to presidents like Donald Trump or George W. Bush before him, they think that they are international law. They think that they get to make war. That’s not their prerogative,” El-Sayed said.
El-Sayed pointed to the extended U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq and said the country is now facing similar costs tied to Iran. He argued for what he called an end to “the era of dumb wars” and said the U.S. should stop providing unconditional military funding to countries including Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
“I pay my tax dollars so that my kids get good schools, rather than dropping bombs on other people or subsidizing tanks for foreign militaries,” El-Sayed said.
He said that acting as a leading enforcer of international law, rather than exempting the U.S. from it, would produce a more peaceful world and allow the country to focus on other challenges.
El-Sayed also tied his foreign policy comments to domestic manufacturing, saying he supports unions, manufacturing, and engineering in the U.S. and accusing past presidents of delaying action or favoring China at the country’s expense.
“I believe in our unions and our manufacturing and our engineering. And, for too long, we’ve watched presidents just kick the can down the road, or worse, they are selling us short to China,” El-Sayed said.
