El-Sayed Consultant Scarborough Tells Him: Go Campaign in Synagogues!

Joe Scarborough Elise Jordan Morning Joe 10-6-26

When Morning Joe concludes its run one day, a new career opportunity looms for Joe Scarborough: Democratic campaign consultant. 

Joe's been at it for some time now in a volunteer [we presume!] capacity. Last month, for example, we caught him suggesting a bumper sticker slogan for Angie Nixon, the democratic socialist Florida senatorial candidate.

Scarborough was back at it on Tuesday's show. This time, his "client" was Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic senatorial candidate from Michigan. When Scarborough heard from Elise Jordan that El-Sayed is having a tough time with Jewish Democrats in Michigan, Scarborough had a brilliant suggestion: go on a synagogue tour! 

Elise Jordan had sat down with two groups of conflicted Michigan Democrats. Her takeaway was that black Democrats in Wayne County are persuadable, and that a campaign appearance by President Obama alongside El-Sayed should be huge. 

The Oakland County Jewish Democrats, she said, are a different case. "There's very little that will make them budge at this point." 

A clip was played of a Jewish Democrat in Michigan saying that her daughter, who attends law school in Detroit, has to hide being Jewish. The woman said she might vote for Republican Mike Rogers, and apologized to her fellow Democrats: "Sorry, guys." Another member of the group told her not to apologize. "You deserve to vote and be comfortable." 

Jordan said the line that kept coming up in the group was El-Sayed's own video after the March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, when a man rammed a pickup into the synagogue while a school was in session. 

"[El-Sayed] had in it the line, 'hurt people hurt people.' That came up repeatedly. They fear that he is not the ally that they need for Israel policy, but also they're really concerned about antisemitism and feel threatened right now, especially in the aftermath of that attack." 

But not to worry, Abdul! Consultant Scarborough has the solution! 

"Just the politician in me, I hear people talking about me that way, 'I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks in synagogues. I'm going to go around. I'm going to let people see me face to face, let them understand who I am. Job one will be making your daughter feel safe at law school, making your children feel safe when they go to fifth grade, making your grandmother and grandfather feel safe walking down the streets of Detroit or elsewhere in Michigan. That's what I would do.'" 

Problem: the first thing El-Sayed did after condemning the Temple Israel attack was to feel the pain of the man who carried it out: "hurt people hurt people." 

 

Scarborough then half-withdrew the advice. Jordan had been in the room, he said, and it sounded as if she were saying don't bother with the synagogue tour: "even that won't make a difference." 

Jordan didn't quite say that. She said a round of synagogue visits might still create "some headway." What those voters want to hear, she said, is simpler than a listening tour, and El-Sayed has not been willing to say it straight: that Israel has a right to exist.

Scarborough's plan is two weeks in synagogues and a promise that safety comes first. Jordan's report is that the candidate still answers the basic question as to Israel's right to exist with a "yes, but." The mother whose daughter is forced to hide her Judaism at a Detroit law school is unlikely to be reassured if El-Sayed adopts Scarborough's synagogue shtick. 

Oddly, one thing that wasn't mentioned in the clip of the Jewish focus group, or in Jordan's description of it, was El-Sayed's close association with Hasan Piker, someone who has called for the elimination of the state of Israel. 

Here's the transcript. 

MS NOW 
Morning Joe 
10/6/26 
6:31 am EDT

MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC JEWISH FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: My daughter goes to University of Detroit-Mercy. She's in her second year of law school, and she has to hide being Jewish. And it's a hard thing to say. When October 7th came, horrible for her, lots of tears. I may go to Mike Rogers. Sorry, guys. 

SECOND MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC JEWISH FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: It's okay. You should not apologize. No, you should not apologize. You deserve to vote and be comfortable. 

ELISE JORDAN: So these were two of the most conflicted group of voters that I've ever sat down with. Now, I think the Wayne County Democrats, I think they will come along. And I think that President Obama coming and campaigning with Abdul El-Sayed is going to be huge. And I do think at the end of the day, that group of voters, they're still persuadable, and they just need to be introduced. 

Now, the Oakland County Jewish Democrats, there's very little that will make them budge at this point. The aftermath of the Temple Israel attack back in West Bloomfield in March. And then Abdul El-Sayed made, he had did a video, and he had in it the line, "hurt people will hurt people." That came up repeatedly. They fear that he is not the ally that they need for Israel policy, but also they're really concerned about antisemitism and feel threatened right now, especially in the aftermath of that attack. 

JOE SCARBOROUGH: You know, Elise, you know, just the politician in me, I hear people talking about me that way, I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks in synagogues. 

I'm going to go around. I'm going to let people see me face to face, let them understand who I am. We understand that, you know, job one will be making your daughter feel safe at law school, making your children feel safe when they go to fifth grade, making your grandmother and grandfather feel safe walking down the streets of Detroit or elsewhere in Michigan. That's what I would do. 

But, my gosh, you were in the room and it actually sounds like you're basically saying, don't bother, even that won't make a difference. 

JORDAN: I think he could make some headway, still. These voters really want to hear just unequivocally that Israel has a right to exist. And the question has been posed to El-Sayed on numerous occasions. And he does give a version of saying, yes, but, and he goes into democracy, and that all citizens need to be able to vote. 

And he gives an answer that is not as straightforward as these voters expect and, frankly, need to hear to feel safe these days.