Abdul El-Sayed’s top comms aide is a self-hating white liberal

The posts, made on X, then known as Twitter, date back to 2019 and 2020. Richner has worked with El-Sayed since at least his 2018 campaign for Michigan governor, according to previous social media posts. On May 26, 2020, the day after George Floyd died, Richner wrote: "I don’t care if it’s scary or makes you uncomfortable. Black people are being murdered by the police and white women are making shit up trying to get Black people killed. snap [the f---] out of it and start taking action."

She followed with another post saying, "all white women are policy failures."

Richner also called on white people to regularly confront their family members about race, writing: "Fellow white people: one of the most powerful anti-racist acts is having those tough conversations with your loved ones. I make it a point to speak with my family about dismantling white supremacy almost every day. people are willing to learn, but you HAVE to make the effort."

In another 2020 post, during violent unrest following Floyd's death, Richner responded to people questioning her comments about looting. "[I]f one more white ann arbor person dms me asking why i’m 'dEFeNdiNG LoOtiNG' i’m seriously gonna explode. your racism is showing. check yourselves. I’m not holding back on this s-— anymore, i’m dropping names if u keep it up," she wrote.

Following the 2020 presidential election, Richner also posted: ""!!! POC youth really carried us [purple heart emoji] and let's be very clear not ALL youth.. very disappointed in white youth and white women," according to the posts.

In 2019, she criticized white people who defended comments made by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, writing: "'[E]veryone said stuff like that back then' is not at all an excuse for being straight-up racist. period."

El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat, is running for the US Senate in Michigan. Richner currently serves as his communications director.