El-Sayed and Rogers toss insults in Michigan Senate debate

In Thursday's Michigan Senate debate, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed called his opponent "weak," "cowardly" and a "sockpuppet for the Trump administration." Republican Mike Rogers called his opponent a "glitchy AI chatbot" who is running a "con" and will "say anything to win."

The two candidates in one of the country's most closely watched midterm contests spent the hourlong debate sparring over the Iran war , the trade war with Canada, immigration, healthcare policy and cost-of-living issues. They also tossed insults across the stage in nearly every exchange, accusing each other of flip-flopping and financial entanglements.

After the only commercial break, debate moderator Rick Albin said the two men were arguing even when they were off-air.

El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination after a bitter primary in which the former health official clashed with the party's moderate wing over his support for single-payer healthcare and his opposition to U.S. military aid for Israel. A former congressman, Rogers won the GOP nomination with little competition after an endorsement from President Trump, whose rocky approval ratings have posed a vulnerability for his party's midterm candidates.

During the debate, both candidates called for pausing the gas tax as the conflict in the Middle East keeps energy prices high, and questioned the tit-for-tat tariff war with Canada.

On the Iran war, Rogers said "this would be the time to wrap it up." He also argued "we need to end" the trade dispute with Canada by striking a deal with the U.S.' northern neighbor, saying he spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick "about getting the deal done."

But El-Sayed pushed Rogers on the Trump administration's trade and Iran policies, accusing him of running at the president's behest and being unwilling to stand up to Mr. Trump.

"He's got a direct line to the president who's making sure the war does not end, and he's not using it," El-Sayed said of the Iran conflict, which he called a "stupid war."

Asked if the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration has gone too far, Rogers said the intense operations in Minnesota earlier this year were "probably not appropriate."

"They made that correction. They made an adjustment," Rogers said, before arguing agents are "targeting murderers and rapists who were here illegally doing bad things."

El-Sayed — who has called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished — was asked whether an undocumented immigrant who committed a violent crime should be deported. He answered: "Yes, but you don't have to do that by violating the whole Constitution."

Meanwhile, Rogers attacked El-Sayed over his support for Medicare For All, calling his views on healthcare "dangerous" and arguing it would involve "taking over your private health insurance and giving it to the government." When El-Sayed said that "if families want to keep their private health insurance, that's fine by me," Rogers interjected: "That is absolutely news to me."

Foreign policy animated much of the debate.