El-Sayed Decided to Attack Melania Trump — BIG Mistake
Abdul El-Sayed had plenty of ways to respond to Trump. He could have attacked his policies, his record, or the social media post that started the fight. Instead, he chose marital hearsay.
Trump posted side-by-side photos of himself with Melania and El-Sayed with his wife, framing it as “Two VERY DIFFERENT Americas.” El-Sayed accepted the comparison — and then went somewhere Trump hadn’t. He described the Trumps as “two people who don’t like each other” and added, “From what I have heard, it’s a bit of a rocky road.”
“From what I have heard.”
The man who just won a Democratic Senate primary — by one point, in a state Trump carried, backed by a Mao-praising Twitch streamer — decided his opening move in the general election would be to peddle anonymous gossip about the President’s 21-year marriage on national television.
Donald and Melania Trump have been married since 2005 and have one son together. El-Sayed and his wife have been married since 2006 and have two daughters. Neither couple’s marriage belongs in a Senate race.
The political calculation here is baffling even before you get to the substance. El-Sayed is running in Michigan, a state where working-class voters chose Trump in 2024, where traditional family values still carry weight outside Ann Arbor and Detroit’s progressive enclaves, and where the voters he needs — the blue-collar Democrats who defected to Republicans over the past decade — are not going to be fired up by a Senate candidate doing celebrity marriage gossip on CNN.
There is also a principle at stake here that transcends electoral calculation. Politics once maintained an imperfect but real rule: spouses were mostly left alone unless they had deliberately stepped into public life or created legitimate news themselves. Children were certainly off-limits. El-Sayed didn’t go after Trump’s kids — but he went after his marriage on the basis of hearsay. That’s a boundary worth naming, because once candidates decide that an opponent’s marriage is fair game for campaign gossip, they weaken the rule that protects their own families.
A February 2026 survey found 42% of Republicans rated Melania “outstanding” as first lady, and another 24% rated her “above average.” Whatever El-Sayed thought he was accomplishing, insulting the marriage of one of the more popular first ladies in recent memory — based on things he “heard” — is not the political masterstroke it apparently seemed in the moment.
Republicans shouldn’t respond by rummaging through El-Sayed’s personal life. That would confirm that no standard is worth defending.
They should just remember what he said. And make sure Michigan voters remember too.
A candidate who starts a general election campaign by gossiping about the President’s marriage is a candidate who has already run out of better arguments. In Michigan, that’s a problem.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
