Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed “has the worst case of little man syndrome I’ve ever seen,” sharpening his criticism of El-Sayed in the final days before Tuesday’s election.
Fetterman made the remark in a statement to Jewish Insider published Oct. 31, after reports that El-Sayed’s campaign had asked Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) to stay away from its events.
Fetterman said Stevens “simply held Abdul El-Sayed accountable for his views on Israel and fixation with Jewish money” and called El-Sayed’s response an “overreaction” that “demonstrates why he struggles with groups of Michigan voters.”
I asked Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) for his thoughts on the increasingly public dispute between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens. Here’s what he told @jewishinsider:
“Rep. Haley Stevens simply held Abdul El-Sayed accountable for his views on Israel and fixation with Jewish money. El-Sayed is going after a woman and banning her from campaign events for having an opinion. El-Sayed’s overreaction demonstrates why he struggles with groups of Michigan voters. He has the worst case of little man syndrome I’ve ever seen.”
Emily Jacobs, Jewish Insider (@emilyfjacobs), Oct. 31, 2026
How the dispute started
Stevens, who lost the August primary to El-Sayed, had called on him to condemn an ad from an outside group, Rebellion PAC, that she called antisemitic. El-Sayed is not affiliated with the group, and his campaign distanced itself from the ad, NBC News reported.
El-Sayed answered in a statement that Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” A person familiar with the decision told NBC News that Stevens was being asked not to attend El-Sayed’s events because the campaign was concerned about distractions around her. El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to Jewish Insider’s request for comment on Fetterman’s statement.
Not the first time
Fetterman used similar language in August. After The Washington Post played a clip in which El-Sayed called Fetterman a vulgar name, Fetterman said El-Sayed “just has like this weird little man syndrome energy just going around insulting people,” Fox News reported.
Stevens backs Rogers
On Sunday, Stevens attended church in Detroit with Republican nominee Mike Rogers and endorsed him for the Senate. “I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign,” Stevens said as she announced she was “endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today,” NBC News reported.
Rogers, a former congressman, faces El-Sayed on Tuesday for the open seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI). The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up, NBC News reported.
