Connect with us

INTERNACIONAL

Trump’s ‘Economic Fury’ squeezes Iran — but can Tehran outlast the pressure?

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

As the Trump administration escalates its campaign against Iran through sanctions, naval pressure and financial enforcement, a central question is emerging: Can unprecedented economic strain truly weaken the regime, or will Iran’s rulers once again absorb the pain, suppress unrest and survive?

Advertisement

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday post on X that the «Economic Fury» campaign already has disrupted «tens of billions of dollars in revenue» that would otherwise support terrorism, while arguing Iran’s inflation has doubled and its currency has sharply depreciated under the current maximum pressure campaign.

Bessent also warned that Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, is nearing storage capacity and could soon force production cuts, which he said may cost the regime an additional roughly $170 million per day in lost revenue.

IRAN IS ‘TRYING TO GIVE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY A HEART ATTACK’ BY CLOSING STRAIT OF HORMUZ, UAE MINISTER SAYS

Advertisement

The escalating pressure campaign marks one of the most aggressive U.S. efforts in years to economically isolate Iran. But the central question is whether this strategy can force meaningful concessions from a regime that has historically absorbed economic pain, or whether it risks triggering broader instability — from energy market shocks to regional escalation — before Iran is pushed to a breaking point.

A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, 2026. (AP Photo)

A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that Treasury is aggressively expanding «Economic Fury» beyond traditional sanctions by targeting Iran’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds across oil, banking, cryptocurrency and covert trade networks.

Advertisement

The official said Treasury has disrupted billions in projected Iranian oil revenue in recent days alone, including freezing $344 million in regime-linked cryptocurrency, while also escalating pressure on Chinese «teapot» refineries, foreign banks and sanctions-evasion networks facilitating Tehran’s trade.

The Treasury also has warned financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Oman that continued facilitation of Iranian illicit commerce could trigger secondary sanctions, while signaling that foreign companies — including airlines — may also face penalties if they support prohibited Iranian activity.

But Alireza Nader, an Iranian independent analyst based in Washington, is skeptical that economic pressure alone will force a strategic breaking point. 

Advertisement

«It looks like a game of chicken and I think the regime thinks that it can win this game of chicken with President Trump,» he told Fox News Digital.

«I don’t see this economic blockade … leading to some sort of breaking point for the regime,» Nader added, arguing that Iran’s leadership has repeatedly shown it is willing to let ordinary citizens bear extraordinary suffering to preserve power.

«The regime cares about staying in power,» he said, warning that public hardship does not necessarily translate into vulnerability.

Advertisement

«The economic clock is moving much faster on Iran than on its adversaries.»

That skepticism stands in stark contrast to Miad Maleki, a former Treasury sanctions analyst, who argues Washington may now hold its greatest leverage over Iran since the 1979 revolution.

«We’ve never had the level of leverage that we have today with Iran in the history of our conflict … since 1979,» Maleki said.

Advertisement

NEXT MOVE ON IRAN: SEIZE KHARG ISLAND, SECURE URANIUM OR RISK GROUND WAR ESCALATION

US destroyer sailing in Middle East

A senior administration official said Treasury has disrupted billions in projected Iranian oil revenue in recent days alone.  (CENTCOM)

For Maleki, what makes this moment different is not sanctions alone, but the convergence of sanctions, naval blockade and aggressive secondary enforcement.

He said Iran’s already fragile economy — marked by 104% food inflation and a roughly 90% collapse in purchasing power — could face roughly $435 million in daily economic losses if maritime restrictions hold.

Advertisement

«Iran’s economy relies on the Strait of Hormuz more than any other economy,» Maleki said, arguing that disruption around the strait may ultimately hurt Iran faster than its adversaries.

If restrictions are fully enforced, Maleki warned, «crude onshore storage shortages in about 7 to 14 days, then they can buy a few weeks with filling up a dozen tankers already in the Persian Gulf, but they have to start dropping oil extraction now in anticipation of running out of storage. They are also facing gasoline shortages in matters of days or a few weeks, forced oil-production cuts, and eventually banking or salary strain.»

Independent shipping intelligence from from shipping intelligence firm Kpler suggests Iran’s oil bottleneck may already be intensifying, though perhaps on a slightly longer timeline than some sanctions advocates predict.

Advertisement

Before the conflict, Iran exported roughly 2 million barrels of oil per day, Court Smith, Kpler’s head of engagements and partnerships, told Lauren Simonetti at FOX Business, but current exports appear closer to 1 million barrels daily, leaving an estimated 1 million barrels per day accumulating in storage.

Smith estimated Iran may have roughly 30 days before shoreside storage faces severe capacity constraints under current conditions, while warning that older fields or marginal wells could already be facing early shut-in pressures.

To buy time, Iran has reportedly begun pulling decades-old tankers out of storage for temporary floating capacity, a sign of mounting logistical strain. 

Advertisement

Former Israeli national security adviser Yaakov Amidror argues the blockade should not be judged by whether it forces immediate capitulation, but by whether Washington has the patience to let time erode Iran’s strength.

«Blockade is one of the oldest forms of warfare,» Amidror said. «Blockade equals time.»

In his view, the strategy’s advantage is precisely that it imposes relatively low costs on the United States while gradually exhausting Iran’s economy.

Advertisement

«The siege does its work. It weakens Iran,» he said, describing it as one of the cheapest long-term methods of pressure available.

Amidror also pushed back forcefully against claims that modern enforcement is unrealistic.

«I don’t buy the idea that the U.S. Navy in the 21st century can’t monitor the 35 kilometers of blockade» he said, arguing that American surveillance, satellites and naval assets are more than capable of controlling the choke point over time.

Advertisement

Danny Citrinowicz, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs, offers a far more skeptical view.

«The blockade won’t force Iran to capitulate,» Citrinowicz said.

BLOCKADE 101: AMERICAN SEA POWER ON DISPLAY AS TRUMP CORNERS IRAN AND WARNS OFF CHINA

Advertisement
Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launching from USS Abraham Lincoln flight deck

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday post on X that the «Economic Fury» campaign already has disrupted «tens of billions of dollars in revenue» that would otherwise support terrorism.  (U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters)

«This country is under sanctions since 1979 … they know how to make adjustments,» he added.

«The regime isn’t just dependent on oil and energy exports to survive, it has other means of income,» Nader argued, «Oil and natural gas are its biggest sources of income, but I think this regime has made a calculation that it can withstand even months of economic siege because it may think that the Trump administration is more vulnerable to political pressure.»

«Look,» he added, «American voters vote in the president and vote out the president. In Iran, nobody’s voted in and out. The regime maintains power through brutal force. If there are public disturbances, if there are new uprisings, the regime will try to deal with them as it has in the past to mass violence, killing thousands of people. That’s how this regime stays in power.»

Advertisement

Citrinowicz warned that Iran may escalate regionally or exploit global energy vulnerabilities long before economic collapse forces surrender, potentially driving oil prices sharply upward and creating international political pressure before Tehran truly breaks.

«In the pain game … the world will feel that before,» he said.

That leaves the administration facing a strategic endurance contest: Can economic warfare degrade Iran faster than the regime can adapt, repress and weaponize global pain?

Advertisement

Nader believes Iran’s rulers may still calculate that they can outlast U.S. patience through repression and resource management.

Maleki believes the economic «clock is moving much faster» on Iran than on its adversaries.

Amidror argues time itself may be Washington’s greatest weapon.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group sailing in the Atlantic Ocean with military planes overhead

A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that Treasury is aggressively expanding «Economic Fury» beyond traditional sanctions by targeting Iran’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds across oil, banking, cryptocurrency and covert trade networks. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Tajh Payne/U.S. Navy/Reuters)

And Citrinowicz warns that if the United States expects quick capitulation, it may be underestimating both Iran’s resilience and its willingness to escalate.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Iranian mission to the U.N., CENTCOM and the Pentagon for comment. 

Advertisement



war with iran, inflation, us navy, economy, iran, sanctions

Advertisement

INTERNACIONAL

El-Sayed in the hot seat for another foreign rental property, nearly $300K in additional income

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Moments ahead of a primary debate on Monday night, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed released a new financial disclosure, revealing new details about he and his wife’s assets worth up to $2.1 million.

Advertisement

The disclosures, which come a week ahead of a heated primary election between El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., shed new light on El-Sayed’s financials but questions still remain about the specifics of his wealth. While, broadly, much of their information was already known through reporting he did last year, the 2026 filing adds three key additions.

El Sayed and his wife listed a rental property in Dubai worth up to $250,000, a liability to a company in Dubai worth up to $100,000 and a tweak to El-Sayed’s employment status in Michigan.

SOCIALIST-BACKED DEM WHO RIPPED THE WEALTHY CRACKS STATE’S TOP 1%, TAX RETURNS SHOW

Advertisement

Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for US Senate in Michigan, speaks before U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) takes the stage at Mumford High School on May 3, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

Past reporting had already show that El-Sayed’s wife owned a rental property in Ann Harbor, Michigan and another one in Bangalore, India. 

The Dubai property makes a third real estate holding. The debt, worth between $50,000 and $100,000, is a liability owed to Majid Al Futtaim Tilal, a real estate development company that specializes in luxury residential projects. And finally, the filing adds that El-Sayed worked as a consultant for Wayne County, Michigan, with an income of $72,000. At the same time, the filing lists a salary of $82,750 — also for Wayne County. The consulting is a change from a salaried position listed at $278,900 the year before.

Advertisement

«Know many people who own rental properties in three countries?» Prominent gun-control activist Shannon Watts posted on X.

«Why are all the socialists rich????» Democratic analyst Rachel Bitecofer posted on X.

In total, both the 2025 and 2026 filings put El-Sayed’s net worth between $870,000 and $2.1 million.

Advertisement

The Michigan race has drawn national attention as Stevens, a more establishment candidate with the backing of Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., squares off against El-Sayed’s progressive promises to challenge the U.S.-Israel relationship, abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and provide universal healthcare. His platform has drawn support from fellow progressives such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

WATCH: SURFACED VIDEOS OF DEM SENATE CANDIDATE BACKING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ CONTRADICT RECENT DENIALS

Rep. Haley Stevens gestures while speaking with reporters

Michigan U.S. Sen. candidate, Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., speaks with media after a debate at WoodTV studios on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Kristen Norman)

With a groundswell of support among progressives, Stevens has sought to paint El-Sayed as a far cry from the middle-class working-family base he claims to champion, needling El-Sayed over his net worth in a debate last month.

Advertisement

«Look, I am the only one running for United States Senate in Michigan who is not a millionaire,» Stevens had said at the time.

At the debate on Monday, Stevens resurfaced the filings and what she characterized as a lack of transparency.

«You have not released your tax returns,» Stevens reminded him. «You talk about getting money out of politics and putting money in people’s pockets, but still no one knows who’s putting the money in your pocket,» Stevens said.

Advertisement

El-Sayed, who filed the Senate report right before the debate, said he had made the necessary disclosures, sidestepping the comment about his tax returns.

DEM PRIMARY ERUPTS AS ESTABLISHMENT FAVORITE DISMISSES RIVAL AS ‘CELEBRITY CANDIDATE’

Abdul El-Sayed

Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks before U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., takes the stage at Mumford High School on May 3, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

«This is a distraction from the issues in your life,» he said at Monday’s debate.

El-Sayed’s most recent disclosures follow an application for an extension which allowed him an extra 90 days to finalize his 2026 paperwork. That extension would have allowed him to submit his disclosures on Aug. 13 — a week after the primary. When confronted about the timeline, El-Sayed pledged on a podcast earlier this month to submit his disclosures before the election.

El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the disclosures or the timing of its submission.

Advertisement

michigan, senate, politics

Advertisement
Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Donald Trump quiere que Uruguay reciba cubanos deportados de Estados Unidos

Published

on


Como parte de su campaña antimigrantes, el gobierno de Donald Trump ha deportado a miles de cubanos. A algunos los ha enviado a México e incluso a países africanos, y a otros de regreso a Cuba.

Ahora, funcionarios estadounidenses están cerca de asegurar un nuevo destino: Uruguay, el segundo país más pequeño de Sudamérica, que ya tiene una población relativamente grande de residentes que emigraron de Cuba.

Advertisement

El Departamento de Estado, bajo el mando del secretario de Estado Marco Rubio, hijo de inmigrantes cubanos, ha estado discutiendo la propuesta con el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Uruguay durante meses, según funcionarios de ambos países.

Uruguay entró en las negociaciones en parte porque necesita trabajadores migrantes, y en parte para ganarse el favor del gobierno de Trump, afirmó un alto funcionario uruguayo.

Pero a medida que Estados Unidos busca países dispuestos a recibir a cubanos, también está empeorando las circunstancias que, en primer lugar, obligaron a muchos cubanos a huir de su país.

Advertisement

En los últimos meses, la campaña de presión económica del gobierno de Trump ha bloqueado los envíos de petróleo a la isla caribeña, que ya estaba devastada por años de sanciones estadounidenses y el mal gobierno de sus líderes autoritarios.

Rubio dijo que Estados Unidos tenía muchas preocupaciones sobre Cuba, que está a 145 kilómetros de Florida, incluida “la amenaza de una migración masiva”.

Ese es “siempre un riesgo que se corre cuando los países están tan profundamente desestabilizados como Cuba”, dijo a los periodistas que viajaban con él en Manila la semana pasada.

Advertisement

En Uruguay, el gobierno busca regularizar a los migrantes cubanos para que puedan encontrar oportunidades de trabajo y acceder a servicios sociales. Muchos solicitan asilo inicialmente.

Algunos funcionarios estadounidenses piensan que eso podría ayudar a garantizar que los deportados no intenten regresar a Estados Unidos, al mismo tiempo que les permite vivir fuera de Cuba, dijeron los funcionarios.

Un acuerdo escrito con Uruguay podría no especificar a los cubanos en el texto, dijo un funcionario, aunque en la práctica ellos serían el foco de las deportaciones a ese país.

Advertisement

Algunos de los cubanos en Estados Unidos podrían tener familiares en Uruguay, y los gobiernos están discutiendo la posibilidad de reunir a las familias, dijo un funcionario del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores en Uruguay. Al igual que otros funcionarios entrevistados para este artículo, habló bajo condición de anonimato para discutir negociaciones delicadas.

Leé también: Cuba anunció la apertura al capital privado en farmacias, geriátricos y estaciones de servicio

El gobierno de Trump le dijo a un tribunal federal en marzo que había enviado a 6000 cubanos a México, donde muchos tienen dificultades para encontrar trabajo. También ha enviado migrantes cubanos a África, incluso a Esuatini, anteriormente conocido como Suazilandia, y a Sudán del Sur, un país devastado por la guerra, donde los migrantes han sido recluidos en centros de detención.

Advertisement

La política es parte de un amplio esfuerzo del gobierno de Trump para encontrar naciones dispuestas a aceptar migrantes deportados de Estados Unidos.

El Departamento de Estado ha sido criticado por enviar a algunos deportados a países distantes donde no tienen conexiones, o donde los gobiernos tienen antecedentes de abusos contra los derechos humanos.

Los gobiernos de Sudamérica se han mostrado reacios a aceptar deportados. Pero Paraguay firmó un acuerdo con el Departamento de Estado el año pasado y ha aceptado vuelos de deportados de varias nacionalidades. Ecuador también firmó un acuerdo el año pasado, y entre los deportados enviados allí se incluyen cubanos.

Advertisement

Uruguay, una nación de 3,4 millones de habitantes, ha tenido durante mucho tiempo una política migratoria relativamente abierta.

La Plaza Independencia en Montevideo, Uruguay. (Foto: Martin Varela Umpierrez/REUTERS)

Carlos Negro, ministro del Interior de Uruguay, afirmó que en su país tienen la tradición de dar la bienvenida a las personas que llegan de otras naciones, añadiendo que Uruguay nació como un país de inmigrantes. La mayoría de los uruguayos descienden de colonos y migrantes de España e Italia.

Advertisement

Aunque los grupos defensores de los derechos de los migrantes han criticado la política de deportación de Trump, algunos han dicho que para los deportados cubanos, terminar en Uruguay sería mejor que ser enviados a muchos otros países.

En marzo, Leydis Aguilera, quien emigró a Uruguay desde Cuba hace 16 años, se convirtió en miembro del parlamento nacional. Ha descrito la cálida bienvenida que recibió en Uruguay y cómo finalmente encontró oportunidades educativas y laborales allí.

Uruguay necesita expandir su fuerza laboral para compensar su población pequeña y envejecida. La opinión pública sigue estando mayoritariamente a favor de la migración, y las deportaciones son poco frecuentes. Incluso a aquellos que ingresan sin visa a menudo se les permite quedarse legalmente.

Advertisement

El año pasado, Uruguay tuvo casi 24.000 solicitantes de asilo de Cuba, según las estadísticas de la Organización de Naciones Unidas.

El Departamento de Estado declinó hacer comentarios sobre las conversaciones con Uruguay. “La implementación de las políticas de inmigración del gobierno de Trump es una máxima prioridad para el Departamento de Estado”, dijo en un comunicado. “Como ha dicho el secretario Rubio, nos mantenemos firmes en nuestro compromiso de poner fin a la inmigración ilegal y masiva, y de reforzar la seguridad fronteriza de Estados Unidos”.

El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Uruguay declinó hacer comentarios.

Advertisement

Durante gran parte de la Guerra Fría, el gobierno de Estados Unidos recibió a personas de la Cuba gobernada por los comunistas y les ofreció un camino rápido hacia la residencia permanente y la ciudadanía. La Ley de Ajuste Cubano de 1966 ha obligado a los gobiernos demócratas y republicanos a mantener esta política.

Pero a partir del gobierno de Bill Clinton, los funcionarios estadounidenses han encontrado formas de eludir o debilitar los requisitos de la ley para intentar evitar recibir una afluencia de migrantes.

El presidente Trump ha acelerado eso. Su gobierno ha bloqueado varias vías hacia el estatus de residencia permanente y la ciudadanía para los cubanos.

Advertisement

Eso pone a 600.000 cubanos en riesgo de deportación, según María José Espinosa, directora ejecutiva del Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas, que analiza datos de deportación.

Ada Ferrer, profesora de Historia en Princeton y autora de un libro sobre la historia de Cuba, dijo: “Hubo un tiempo en el que no perseguían a los cubanos debido a la Ley de Ajuste Cubano, pero ya nadie está cumpliendo con eso”.

“Si hiciste campaña con deportaciones masivas, vas a intentar hacer deportaciones masivas”, agregó. “Pero los cubanoestadounidenses pensaron que estarían protegidos”.

Advertisement

Un abuelo cubano de Rubio que voló a Estados Unidos en 1962 sin visa recibió una orden de deportación, pero se le permitió permanecer en el país después de que se le otorgara el estatus de refugiado, según una biografía de Marco Rubio escrita por Manuel Roig-Franzia.

Yael Schacher, directora para América y Europa en Refugees International, dijo que todos los planes de deportación eran “malas opciones”, especialmente aquellos dirigidos a personas que han vivido en Estados Unidos durante mucho tiempo.

Aun así, dijo, un país latinoamericano “con un sistema de asilo que funcione bien y que sea seguro es, digamos, la opción menos mala”.

Advertisement

A pesar de la relativa tolerancia de Uruguay, los migrantes a menudo tienen dificultades. Uruguay es caro en comparación con otras naciones sudamericanas. Muchos cubanos viven inicialmente en pensiones mientras trabajan como repartidores o conductores de Uber, cuidadores y guardias de seguridad.

*Por Edward Wong y Emma Bubola. Hamed Aleaziz y Eileen Sullivan colaboraron con reportería desde Washington y Tomer Urwicz colaboró con reportería desde Montevideo, Uruguay.

The New York Times, cuba, Uruguay

Advertisement
Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Fetterman brands new socialist favorite ‘Pontiac Platner’ after ‘ogre’ dig

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa., branded Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdulrahman El-Sayed «Pontiac Platner» after the left-wing upstart called for the «ogre» to be put on a «pike» at a campaign event, in comments widely understood to reference the Pennsylvania lawmaker.

Advertisement

A recording from a Zoom call with donors obtained by Politico appeared to depict El-Sayed railing against those who have criticized his far-left policy platform, while singling out Fetterman and allegedly envisioning his head on a stake.

Fetterman later responded to CNBC’s Joe Kernen by blessing El-Sayed with a new nickname:

«I never worked out in male modeling, you know you could call me «Senator Shrek» — whatever — but this guy is really the Pontiac Platner, and now he’s really running to be, be the head of our emerging pro-Hamas wing here in the party,» Fetterman said of El-Sayed.

Advertisement

DEM SENATE HOPEFUL UNDER FIRE FOR RESURFACED COMMENTS CALLING COPS ‘OPPORTUNISTIC COWARDS’

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber during votes on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Pontiac is a well-known name in Michigan, stemming from the 18th-century Odawa chief to his namesake city and the now-defunct General Motors brand that was discontinued following the 2008 financial crisis.

Advertisement

El-Sayed has routinely criticized the Israeli government, and some of his policy positions overlap with those of Maine oyster farmer Graham Platner, who dropped his Senate bid after a series of allegations of sexual misconduct involving women.

«Politically, some of the things that he said or done are unacceptable to me. I’m not really sure what I’ve really done or voted for that that has offended the little guy so much,» Fetterman went on.

BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS

Advertisement
Fetterman with El-Sayed

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., left; Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, right. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

He added that Democrats are engaging in a «serious game» by allowing people in the «Bernie Sanders» wing of the party who «created the Platner disaster» some policy oxygen.

During El-Sayed’s Zoom call, the millennial left-winger spoke out specifically against Fetterman:

«In the interim need to be organizing downward and outward. So, a big pickup for us could be that John Fetterman seat [in Pennsylvania]. I’m like a lot of folks — they’re going to ‘F’ around and give me carte blanche to go take them out,» El-Sayed said.

Advertisement

«Y’all came at me so now I get to come at you and primary people like John Fetterman, and I have no problem with that — I’m looking forward to it.»

El-Sayed dismissed the longstanding custom against primarying sitting senators, a norm recently broken in the GOP when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in their primary.

«Then, what happens is, 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,» El-Sayed said.

Advertisement

The 6-foot-9 Fetterman took the insult in stride in his interview with Kernen, alluding to El-Sayed’s barb being his latest comparison to Mike Myers’ beloved green ogre that have cropped up in memes and elsewhere over the years.

«It’s incumbent on us, Republican and Democrat [alike], to police your own ranks. So that’s what I’m willing to do,» Fetterman said, adding that he is warning fellow lawmakers against eliminating the filibuster in one example.

El-Sayed and Platner also share several policy positions, including support for a single-payer, government-run Medicare-for-all system, anti-corporate housing policies, higher taxes on wealthy Americans and alignment with Sanders, a Vermont socialist.

Advertisement

While El-Sayed says he is neither a Democratic Socialists of America member nor a democratic socialist, he has a history of speaking at DSA events.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

Between 2017 and 2020, El-Sayed attended and spoke at six events held by the DSA, including a 2019 fundraiser which he headlined. Despite the longstanding relationship, El-Sayed has distanced himself from the DSA when interviewed by the press and outright rejected being labeled as a «socialist.»

Advertisement

«I’m not technically or practically DSA,» El-Sayed told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. In an interview with CNN, he similarly stated that «I am not somebody who is a socialist. I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated.»

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman and El-Sayed for comment.

Advertisement

Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.

john fetterman, michigan, bernie sanders, graham platner, elections, michigan wolverines, maine, israel

Continue Reading

Tendencias