‘Not an Appealing Quality!’ Democrats on CNN Panel Rip Abdul El-Sayed Over ‘Cockiness’

Former Democratic Party strategists David Axelrod and Chris Meagher warned Abdul El-Sayed on Monday’s episode of CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt not to get too cocky in his race against Republican Mike Rogers.

In a discussion about El-Sayed claiming Republicans are launching racially charged attacks on him because of identity, Hunt asked, “David Axelrod, how do you assess the way he is handling this and the dynamics here, especially considering you worked for Obama?”

“I think he is right that this is not friendly terrain for Mike Rogers in that race, and they have landed on this as the issue they’re going to ride. They are trying to tap into Islamophobia. I guess my question is, if that’s what they want to be talking about, is that what you want to talk about?” Axelrod replied, adding:

If I were advising him, I would say don’t prolong this for days. Answer the question, and then make the pivot to what people really care about, because I guarantee you that most people in Michigan are most concerned about the impact of the Canadian trade war that Trump has created, the effect of the Iran war, and all of the economic impacts that they are living with, and Mike Rogers’ willingness, until just recently, to ratify those. You want to fight the game on your turf. He’s got a winning hand to play here. So I would not make it several days later.

“You’re basically saying he’s letting them dictate the terms?” Hunt clarified.

“I think he is leaning in in ways that he thinks help him, because he’s impeaching their argument. But I think what he’s doing is affirming that this is what the race is about, this is where we’re going to fight,” Axelrod replied, adding:

And I also think he has a… I like him very much. I know him very well. He was a fellow at my institute at the University of Chicago. But essentially taking the posture of “I am going to teach you, I am smarter than you” is not an appealing quality.

“Chris, go ahead,” Hunt said, turning to Meagher, a former Biden advisor.

“He gives this vibe that he just has to be right. He drives and drives, and he has this… some might call it confidence, some might call it cockiness, but he just has to be right on an issue,” Meagher argued, adding:

He needs to be focused on what voters are focused on, which is affordability and cost of living, to David’s point. And I think the quicker he can get back to that message and move on from this, the better. I think he handled this voter very effectively, but we need to move on and get back to what actually matters in this race.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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