Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) escalated a war of words with progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday, branding him the “Pontiac Platner” after El-Sayed called for a primary challenge against Fetterman to “put one ogre on a pike.”
Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Fetterman shrugged off the insult, saying, “I never worked out in male modeling, call me Senator Shrek, whatever.” But he quickly turned the attack back on El-Sayed, comparing him to Graham Platner, the former Maine Senate candidate who dropped his bid after a rape accusation. “This guy is really the Pontiac Platner, and now he’s really running to be head of our emerging pro-Hamas wing here in the party,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman, a vocal supporter of Israel, has been a sharp critic of progressives who oppose the Biden administration’s Israel policy. El-Sayed recently called Israel a “rogue state,” aligning himself with the party’s far-left flank. Fetterman said, “Politically, some of the things that he’s said or done are unacceptable to me.” He added, “I’m not really sure what I’ve really done or voted for that has offended the little guy so much.”
The Pennsylvania senator also took aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for backing candidates like Platner and El-Sayed, despite concerns from party leaders that they could be weak general-election contenders. “This is a serious game that we’re engaging in, and these same people like Bernie Sanders and other people created the Platner disaster,” Fetterman said. Sanders later urged Platner to exit after the sexual assault allegation surfaced.
El-Sayed, who is running in a competitive Michigan Senate primary, told supporters on a leaked Zoom call that he would support “primarying people like John Fetterman.” According to audio obtained by Politico, he said, “If I win … well y’all came at me so now I get to come at you, and you know, primarying people like John Fetterman, I have no problem to do that. Ideally you put one ogre on a pike and then everyone else gets the message and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different.”
The spat underscores deepening fissures in the Democratic Party over Israel and the direction of the party ahead of November. Michigan, a key battleground state, has become a flashpoint, with Trump’s Canada tariffs giving Democrats a new attack line and the state’s Senate primary heating up. Fetterman, who has emerged as a leading voice against the party’s anti-Israel wing, is likely to remain a target for progressives seeking to reshape the party.
El-Sayed’s campaign has not responded to Fetterman’s remarks. The Michigan primary is expected to be closely watched, with Governor Gretchen Whitmer already backing Representative Elissa Slotkin in the race. Fetterman’s broadside suggests he is ready to use his national platform to influence the outcome.
