WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Kamala Harris campaigned Tuesday in Detroit with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at an event on black maternal healthcare.
  • El-Sayed appeared visibly unenthusiastic as Harris argued that opposition to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was an attack on maternal care.
  • A 2012 El-Sayed essay criticizing increased federal breast cancer research funding has received renewed scrutiny.
  • Republican Mike Rogers attacked El-Sayed over the essay, while Harris declared that the Democratic candidate would be a champion.

Former Vice President and failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris appeared Tuesday in Detroit to campaign with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, as reported by Red State.

The event produced the sort of awkward political theater that has become painfully familiar whenever Harris takes a microphone.

El-Sayed is facing Republican Mike Rogers in November. Harris and El-Sayed took questions at an event focused on black maternal healthcare, but some clips showed a candidate who hardly looked thrilled by his prominent campaign guest.

Harris launched into an animated argument claiming that opposition to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion amounted to an attack on maternal care.

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El-Sayed, meanwhile, barely moved during her remarks and offered one noticeably unenthusiastic nod.

Harris said, "Here's another fact. The attack on DEI is an attack on maternal care. An attack on DEI, to recognize diversity, equity, and inclusion, is an attack by definition on maternal care. Including the need to protect black women in connection with their pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care."

The sweeping declaration did not appear to excite the man sitting beside her.

El-Sayed kept an almost motionless expression, creating yet another vintage Harris moment in which her enthusiasm seemed to be operating on an entirely different frequency from everyone else in the room.

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The appearance also renewed attention on El-Sayed's past writing about federal breast cancer research funding.

In 2012, he wrote a paper titled "The Pink Ribbon Lobby and Everyone Else" for a Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health journal.

El-Sayed has a medical degree and refers to himself as "Dr. El-Sayed" in political advertisements.

In the essay, he bemoaned increased federal funding for breast cancer research and called the trend "disturbing," arguing that it diverted federal money from research into other serious diseases.

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According to El-Sayed, the force behind that funding was the powerful "breast cancer lobby," which he also called the "pink ribbon lobby."

The latter phrase referred to the pink ribbons associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month each October.

The paper received renewed scrutiny after a September 16 Washington Free Beacon article brought it back into public view.

Rogers seized on El-Sayed's conclusions and repeatedly attacked him over the essay, asking on X, "What’s wrong with this guy?"

Harris appeared unfazed by either El-Sayed's visible discomfort or the controversy surrounding his earlier writing.

Instead, she relied on her familiar strategy of producing an avalanche of words while leaving listeners to sort out what she was actually trying to say.

The argument that merit and competency should replace considerations based on race and gender received no attention in Harris's remarks.

Focusing on whether doctors are qualified and capable of performing their jobs would benefit black women, white men, Asians, Hispanics, and everyone else seeking effective medical care.

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The event became even stranger when Harris offered her assessment of El-Sayed's future role in black maternal healthcare.

Despite the widely reported scrutiny of his 2012 essay, she declared, "I know he will be a champion."

Harris then paused before adding, "And I have a right to say that."

She suddenly broke into one of her familiar giggling spells, reacting as though the statement had been hilarious even though nothing about it carried an obvious punchline.

El-Sayed did not appear to share the amusement.

As Harris continued speaking, his expression remained subdued, and at moments he looked as if he might be struggling to stay awake through the performance.

The spectacle served as another reminder of Harris's unsuccessful 2024 presidential run and the bullet America dodged that November.

Each renewed appearance brings back the same awkward delivery, wandering explanations, misplaced laughter, and political material that practically writes itself.

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For Republicans, another Harris candidacy would offer a golden opportunity to keep the White House in GOP hands.

Comedy and political writers might also welcome another campaign, but El-Sayed's expression suggested that sharing the stage with the former vice president was not nearly as entertaining for him.

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