Right-wing commentator and U.S. House nominee Addul Ali appeared in an interview with far-right podcaster Jesse Lee Peterson, wherein they made misogynistic statements about women holding leadership positions. 

After prompting by Peterson, Ali said, when it comes to women taking leadership roles, “There is a type of woman that is not suited for that — i.e., Kamala Harris is not suited. I can't see her sitting down with serious men.” After Peterson said he notices “that every time men listen to women today, they suffer,” Ali replied: “I ain't going to argue that. I’m not going to argue that one.” 

Ali is a media consultant who hosts a podcast. He also recently appeared in an MSNBC focus group. He is the Republican nominee for Congress in North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District and previously served as the chair of the Cabarrus County GOP in North Carolina. 

The North Carolina Republican Party has been backing his campaign, and Ali has said he’s received the support of North Carolina state Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton and state House Speaker Tim Moore. Ali was listed as a special guest at the opening of a Trump Force 47 campaign office in North Carolina and recently attended a rally featuring vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), whom he met. 

Ali appeared as a guest on the September 20 edition of The Fallen State, a podcast hosted by Jesse Lee Peterson that streams online. 

Peterson has a long history of making extreme remarks, including against women, declaring in 2012 that “one of the greatest mistakes America made was to allow women the opportunity to vote.” In 2021, he wrote, “If women didn’t vote there would be no such thing as ‘LGBTQ rights’ ‘reproductive rights’ (right to kill babies), and all the mess that’s going on today,” and in a post this year said: “I do not recommend women get involved in politics — they cannot handle power in the right way. Women were created to follow, not to lead. If she’s not married, or doesn’t have kids, she should work though.”

As he has in the past, Peterson asked his guest for his opinion on the role of women in society, arguing that “God did not create women to be leaders” and women being in the forefront is “not good for our country.” 

Ali responded by saying, in part, that he’s “all for, you know, women representing their community. If they can run for office and represent their community and represent the interests of their community, I'm all for women, you know, running and, you know, leading their own businesses and being entrepreneurs and things like that. But I think that there is a type of woman that is not suited for that — i.e., Kamala Harris is not suited. I can't see her sitting down with serious men like Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin.” 

The misogyny continued as the discussion went on, with Ali stating: “Men have to be men again. Men have to be willing to put their foot down and say, ‘Here you go and no further. I'm going to lead. This is what we're doing.’”

Peterson later told him that he’s “glad to see you running, especially that you are Black, because in the Black community the women have literally taken over.” Ali responded: “Well thank you, Jesse. And look, I've not treated my opponent any different than I would treat if she was a male opponent.”

Ali also complained about women leading in the church, saying: “My personal preference is: I like male preachers. I like getting the word from men. I just — I don't — I'm not going to say they shouldn't, but it just, it’s not my cup of tea.” 

Peterson then told him: “I totally know they shouldn’t — should not. Because of God’s order: God and Christ, Christ and man, man over woman, woman over the children, and God would not put a woman ahead of man. As a matter of fact, God said that, to the man, because you listen to the woman, you will suffer. And I notice that every time men listen to women today, they suffer.” 

Ali responded: “I ain't going to argue that. I’m not going to argue that one.”