El=Sayed says Michigan is the capital of Arab-America. Erika Kirk says there is not Arab-America.
There is only the United States of America,” Erika wrote in a post on X on November 8, responding to a video of El-Sayed’s remarks at an Arab American leadership summit. El-Sayed made the remarks on Friday, November 6, while addressing the CONNECT Arab America Empowerment Summit organized by the Arab America Foundation in Chantilly, Virginia, near Washington DC.
Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and CEO of Turning Point USA, has criticized newly elected Michigan Senator Abdul El-Sayed after he described Michigan as the “capital of Arab America”, triggering a debate over immigrant identity, cultural representation and American nationalism. Introducing himself by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, he said he was honoured to be the next US senator from Michigan. “What unites us as Arab Americans is America,” he said, adding that some people had suggested there should be an “asterisk” on their American identity because of their parents’ countries of origin or the language they grew up speaking. He said he hoped his election had demonstrated that America was big enough to include them.
“There is no ‘Arab America.