Farmington Public Schools Trustee Angie Smith went on FOX 2 on Wednesday, July 29, to apologize for comments she made about U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign event the week before, telling him not to come out speaking only Arabic or playing Arabic music.

Smith made the remarks on Wednesday, July 22, at a Haley Stevens campaign event that also featured Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Speaking with Michigan Chronicle journalist Sam Robinson, Smith said of El-Sayed: "Don't come out speaking only Arabic. Don't come out with your Arabic music on. You represent everyone."

El-Sayed was born in the Detroit area to Egyptian immigrant parents, grew up in Bloomfield Hills, and speaks English at his campaign events. He and Stevens are competing in the Tuesday, Aug. 4, Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. If elected, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim American to serve in the U.S. Senate. Smith has endorsed Stevens.

The video went viral, drawing accusations that a sitting school board member had expressed anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias in a state with the nation's largest Arab American population by share.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Smith's remarks in a July 27 press release. CAIR-MI executive director Dawud Walid said the comments carried "undertones of anti-Arab racism" and called it "disgusting that Smith would replicate such [tropes] for political purposes," according to CBS Detroit.

On Detroit Talk City with host Charlie Langton, Smith said she meant candidates should read the room and greet audiences in culturally appropriate ways, FOX 2 reported. She said she would say "As-salaam alaikum" in a Middle Eastern setting, "Shalom" in a Jewish one, and "What up doe?" in Detroit.

The Stevens campaign distanced itself from Smith's words, saying in a statement that the campaign represents a diverse and multicultural coalition and that Smith's views are not Stevens' views. Stevens added that she has repeatedly defended Michigan's Muslim American community. El-Sayed's campaign said everyone is welcome in the movement he is building.

Glenda Stainback, chair of Democrats of South Oakland County, told CBS Detroit she found the situation unfortunate and that candidates should respect their opponents rather than attack one another.

Neither FPS Superintendent Dr. Kelly Coffin nor Board President Terri Weems had issued a public statement about Smith's remarks as of Thursday, July 30. CBS Detroit reported it had not heard back from the school board as of July 27.