Old video clips show Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed calling Barack Obama’s presidency a failure, just weeks before Obama is set to campaign for him in Detroit.
Quick Take
- A CNN “KFile” investigation resurfaced years of comments from Abdul El-Sayed criticizing Obama’s record on war, deportations, and the economy.
- Obama plans to campaign with El-Sayed in Detroit on October 24, alongside Michigan governor nominee Jocelyn Benson.
- El-Sayed says he voted for Obama twice and calls him an inspiration, even while standing by his past policy critiques.
- The flap highlights a wider pattern in politics: old quotes resurface right when a former rival becomes a needed ally.
Resurfaced Comments Create An Awkward Moment
CNN’s KFile unit found that El-Sayed spent several years publicly knocking Obama’s presidency, saying it left the country “no better off” than before. In a 2012 essay, El-Sayed wrote that Obama “perpetuated war, violated our civil liberties, deported more people from our shores than any other president before him,” adding that “the list of his failures goes on.”
El-Sayed also told Vox years ago that he didn’t think Obama was “strong enough” on health care, big banks, campaign finance reform, or immigration. He called Obama’s politics “fairly centrist, middle-of-the-road Democratic policies,” a label many progressives use as criticism, not praise.
Why The Timing Matters
The clips surfaced just days before Obama’s planned October 24 rally with El-Sayed in Detroit, an event the Michigan Democratic Party confirmed will also include gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson. Obama had already called El-Sayed in August to offer encouragement after a bruising Senate primary, describing the conversation as “warm and inviting.” The resurfaced criticism now sits awkwardly next to that outreach.
El-Sayed’s campaign pushed back hard against claims that his past words reflect personal hostility toward Obama. His team pointed to many instances where he praised Obama directly, including a campaign website post calling him “a champion for healthcare access and a historical trailblazer of our time” who “inspired me to believe that there was a place in politics for people like me.” El-Sayed has also said Obama “won our state twice” and knows how to win over Michigan voters.
Policy Disagreement Or Pattern Of Attacks?
A Washington Examiner report framed El-Sayed as one of the clearest examples of a progressive Democrat openly revisiting the Obama era while running for federal office, noting he once said Obama’s presidency “wasn’t quite what we had wanted.” El-Sayed has also said he voted for Obama because he was “the lesser of two evils,” a line unlikely to please die-hard Obama backers now needed to turn out in November.
Still, El-Sayed insists the record shows disagreement on policy, not an attack on Obama as a person. He has compared criticism of his comments to Republican attacks that use Obama’s full name, Barack Hussein Obama, to stir resentment. “I was grateful for his advice,” El-Sayed said of their phone call, acknowledging the primary “aired our differences” but insisting those gaps are “so much smaller than the similarities that we share.”
A Race Michigan Republicans Are Watching Closely
Michigan’s Senate seat is one of the most competitive in the country this cycle, and Republicans wasted no time mocking the Obama rally news. The state GOP issued what Blaze Media described as a “scathing” and “mocking” response once El-Sayed announced Obama’s appearance, a sign both parties see the Detroit stop as a turning point in the race.
The episode fits a familiar pattern across both parties: old statements get dug up and reframed the moment a former critic becomes a political ally. Voters across the spectrum have grown tired of watching politicians rewrite their own history for convenience, whether it’s a Republican softening past Trump criticism or a Democrat softening past Obama criticism. Whether El-Sayed’s explanation satisfies skeptical voters may matter more than the clips themselves.
Obama’s team has not publicly addressed the resurfaced comments, and no cancellation of the Detroit event has been reported. The rally is still set for October 24, meaning both men will share a stage less than three weeks after the old criticism went viral.
Sources:
twitchy.com, pbs.org, jpost.com, abdulforsenate.com
