{"id":21559,"date":"2026-07-30T02:38:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21559"},"modified":"2026-07-30T02:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:38:57","slug":"fetterman-dubs-el-sayed-pontiac-platner-after-ogre-on-a-pike-remark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21559","title":{"rendered":"Fetterman dubs El-Sayed &#8216;Pontiac Platner&#8217; after ogre on a pike remark"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div data-layout-index=\"4\" class=\"featured featured-video video-ct\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"contain\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">  <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"info\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">\n<div class=\"caption\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">\n<h4 class=\"title\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6402345969112\" data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_featured-video_5_1\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">Abdul El-Sayed faces backlash over &#8216;ogre on a pike&#8217; remark targeting Fetterman<\/a><\/h4>\n<p data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">Democratic strategist Al Mottur and former U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley discuss the backlash against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after he referred to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., as an &#8216;ogre on a pike&#8217; during a donor call. El-Sayed later defended the remark during a debate, drawing criticism from fellow Democrats over his rhetoric and far-left agenda.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Senator <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421323\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/john-fetterman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Fetterman<\/a>, D-Pa., branded Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdulrahman El-Sayed &#8220;Pontiac Platner&#8221; after the left-wing upstart called for the &#8220;ogre&#8221; to be put on a &#8220;pike&#8221; at a campaign event, in comments widely understood to reference the Pennsylvania lawmaker.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">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.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fetterman later responded to CNBC\u2019s Joe Kernen by blessing El-Sayed with a new nickname:<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I never worked out in male modeling, you know you could call me &#8220;Senator Shrek&#8221; \u2014 whatever \u2014 but this guy is really the Pontiac Platner, and now he\u2019s really running to be, be the head of our emerging pro-Hamas wing here in the party,&#8221; Fetterman said of El-Sayed.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421324\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/dem-senate-hopeful-under-fire-resurfaced-comments-calling-cops-opportunistic-cowards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>DEM SENATE HOPEFUL UNDER FIRE FOR RESURFACED COMMENTS CALLING COPS &#8216;OPPORTUNISTIC COWARDS&#8217;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/343\/192\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/686\/384\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/672\/378\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1344\/756\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/931\/523\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1862\/1046\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/720\/405\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1440\/810\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1200\/675\/fetterman-november-2025.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Sen. John Fetterman\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>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.<\/span> <span>(Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">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.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">El-Sayed has routinely criticized the Israeli government, and some of his policy positions overlap with those of Maine oyster farmer <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421325\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/graham-platner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Graham Platner<\/a>, who dropped his Senate bid after a series of allegations of sexual misconduct involving women.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Politically, some of the things that he said or done are unacceptable to me. I&#8217;m not really sure what I&#8217;ve really done or voted for that that has offended the little guy so much,&#8221; Fetterman went on.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421326\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/bernie-sanders-reveals-demand-democrat-party-says-working-people-swept-new-york-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/343\/192\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/686\/384\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/672\/378\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1344\/756\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/931\/523\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1862\/1046\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/720\/405\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1440\/810\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1200\/675\/fetterman-and-el-sayed-together.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Fetterman with El-Sayed\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., left; Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, right.<\/span> <span>(Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images; Sarah Rice\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">He added that Democrats are engaging in a &#8220;serious game&#8221; by allowing people in the &#8220;Bernie Sanders&#8221; wing of the party who &#8220;created the Platner disaster&#8221; some policy oxygen.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">During El-Sayed\u2019s Zoom call, the millennial left-winger spoke out specifically against Fetterman:<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;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\u2019m like a lot of folks \u2014 they\u2019re going to \u2018F\u2019 around and give me carte blanche to go take them out,&#8221; El-Sayed said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Y\u2019all came at me so now I get to come at you and <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421327\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/elections\/2023\/primary-results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">primary<\/a> people like John Fetterman, and I have no problem with that &#8212; I&#8217;m looking forward to it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">El-Sayed dismissed the longstanding custom against primarying sitting senators, a norm recently broken in the GOP when <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421328\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/republicans-uniting-beat-talerico-paxton-tells-ruthless\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a> defeated incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in their primary.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;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,&#8221; El-Sayed said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The 6-foot-9 Fetterman took the insult in stride in his interview with Kernen, alluding to El-Sayed\u2019s barb being his latest comparison to Mike Myers\u2019 beloved green ogre that have cropped up in memes and elsewhere over the years.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;It&#8217;s incumbent on us, Republican and Democrat [alike], to police your own ranks. So that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m willing to do,&#8221; Fetterman said, adding that he is warning fellow lawmakers against eliminating the filibuster in one example.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">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 <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421330\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/bernie-sanders-reveals-demand-democrat-party-says-working-people-swept-new-york-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">alignment with Sanders<\/a>, a Vermont socialist.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">While El-Sayed says he is neither a Democratic Socialists of America member nor a democratic socialist, he has a history of <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421331\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/rahm-emanuel-warns-dsa-agenda-doesnt-play-well-outside-upper-west-side-manhattan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">speaking at DSA events<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_421332\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">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 &#8220;socialist.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I&#8217;m not technically or practically DSA,&#8221; El-Sayed told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. In an interview with CNN, he similarly stated that &#8220;I am not somebody who is a socialist. I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman and El-Sayed for comment.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><i>Fox News Digital\u2019s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, worked in both the New York and Washington bureaus for Fox News since 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abdul El-Sayed faces backlash over &#8216;ogre on a pike&#8217; remark targeting Fetterman Democratic strategist Al Mottur and former U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley discuss the backlash against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after he referred to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., as an &#8216;ogre on a pike&#8217; during a donor call. El-Sayed later defended the remark&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/john-fetterman-abdul-el-sayed-senate-fox-news-001.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}