El-Sayed Addresses Past Obama Criticism, Says Democrats Now ‘Stand on the Shoulders of Giants’
El-Sayed says his 2012 critique of Obama no longer reflects his views as the former president prepares to campaign for him.
- Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed disavowed a 2012 opinion piece criticizing President Barack Obama during a 'Meet the Press' interview, walking back claims of 'failures' weeks before the two headline a Detroit rally on October 24.
- Addressing the 14-year-old column, El-Sayed told host Kristen Welker he was 'younger' and 'angry about circumstances' in 2012, adding that he now appreciates how difficult presidential change truly is.
- Welker pressed El-Sayed on a March synagogue attack where he said 'hurt people hurt people,' prompting another apology and acknowledgment he spoke with Senator Elissa Slotkin, who is Jewish, about his remarks.
- El-Sayed faces former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in the general election for the open Senate seat; Republicans initially favored him as an opponent, but his campaign has proven more competitive than expected.
- President Obama will headline the October 24 rally alongside El-Sayed and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee vying to succeed Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in Detroit.
18 Articles
18 Articles
El-Sayed Softens Obama Criticism Ahead of Joint Rally
Abdul El-Sayed softened years of sharp attacks on Barack Obama by comparing the former president to his own father, just as the two prepare to campaign together in Michigan. Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed for an open Michigan Senate seat told NBC’s “Meet the Press” he now intensely appreciates the former president he once blasted in […]
POLITICS: Obama to Campaign for El-Sayed in Michigan Senate Race Despite Past Criticism – The Beltway Report
Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at a rally on October 24, a notable show of support given El-Sayed’s past public criticism of the former president. After the 2012 election, El-Sayed wrote that he had voted for Obama with “the silly emotions of a naïve young man who didn’t understand that hope and change required more than flowery prose and a winning smile,” adding that he found …
Obama To Campaign In Michigan As Senate Hopeful El-Sayed Walks Back 2012 Criticisms
Former President Barack Obama is heading to Michigan to campaign alongside Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, even as past writings resurface in which El-Sayed sharply criticized Obama’s presidency. El-Sayed, who narrowly won Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary on August 5, 2026, defeating U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens by 14,893 votes out of nearly 1.5 million ballots […] Obama To Campaign In Michigan As Senate Hopeful El-Sayed Walks Back…
Abdul El-Sayed Walks Back Obama Criticism
“Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed disavowed a 2012 opinion piece criticizing what he said were ‘failures’ by President Barack Obama during his first term in office,” the Washington Post reports. Said El-Sayed: “I was younger. And I was angry about circumstances. That’s 2012 now, so it’s 2026, 14 years on. You grow up and […]
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