Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed showed up Tuesday night ready to debate his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.
Rogers didn’t.
Instead, viewers watching FOX 2 Detroit were treated to an extraordinary sight in one of the country’s closely watched Senate races: El-Sayed standing onstage while the podium reserved for his Republican opponent remained empty.
And after the event was over, El-Sayed made sure nobody missed the symbolism.
A reporter began asking him about “the elephant in the room tonight, or lack thereof.”
El-Sayed immediately jumped in.
“The elephant was not in the room,” he said. “The elephant decided that they did not want to be in the room. The elephant cowarded out.”
Then he turned his attention to Rogers’ recent appearance at the Republican convention in Dallas.
“It’s wild to me that this guy is more interested in going to speak for, what, six minutes and 48 seconds in Dallas than he is to have 60 minutes with Michiganders here in Detroit,” El-Sayed said.
“But it tells you who he is.”
Then came the line that summed up exactly what El-Sayed thought of his opponent’s absence:
“He’s a coward.”
FOX 2 and the Michigan Debate Committee had invited both candidates after the August primary.
El-Sayed accepted.
Rogers ultimately declined.
The station went ahead with the event anyway, leaving a second podium in place in case the Republican candidate changed his mind.
Rogers’ campaign offered a different explanation for his decision.
It accused FOX 2 anchor Roop Raj of bias and favoritism toward El-Sayed and argued that Michigan voters deserved a fair debate rather than what the campaign described as an event compromised by media bias.
Rogers later defended the decision, arguing that his campaign had never agreed to participate and that he would not take part in what he characterized as a “two-on-one” event.
El-Sayed wasn’t buying it.
“If I were him, I wouldn’t debate me either,” he told reporters.
El-Sayed argued that putting the two candidates on the same stage would force Rogers to defend his record and positions directly.
He also mocked the explanation that media bias was keeping Rogers away.
But the empty podium didn’t mean El-Sayed got an easy hour.
FOX 2 moderator Roop Raj questioned him on subjects ranging from Medicare for All and the war in Iran to his relationship with controversial streamer Hasan Piker and his political ideology.
El-Sayed later praised Raj for conducting a serious interview and asking difficult follow-up questions.
“Roop and I had a vigorous conversation,” El-Sayed said. “He didn’t shy away from harder questions. He didn’t shy away from follow-ups.”
Then he returned to the person who wasn’t there.
“Roop is a serious journalist. I’m a serious candidate,” El-Sayed said. “There is one person not participating in this whole thing who is decidedly unserious about all of it. And that’s Mike Rogers.”
The confrontation between the two candidates isn’t over.
Rogers and El-Sayed are scheduled to participate in additional televised debates in October, meaning Michigan voters should still get an opportunity to see the Republican and Democratic nominees sharing the same stage.
But Tuesday night’s image is going to be difficult to erase.
One candidate showed up.
The other podium stayed empty.
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