The Democratic nominee for Michigans open U.S. Senate seat, Abdul El-Sayed, is now attempting to recast his record of sharp criticism toward Barack Obama even as he leans on the former presidents star power to boost his campaign.
El-Sayeds shifting posture was spotlighted during a Sunday appearance on NBCs Meet the Press, where he was pressed about a 2012 Huffington Post op-ed in which he openly questioned Obamas record, according to the Daily Caller. In that piece, written when he was a 28-year-old assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, El-Sayed asked, Can Obama come through on the promises of four years ago? and answered his own question with a warning: Maybe but not if we continue to brush his poor choices under the table because hes better than the alternative, or because they were hard choices, or because we like the guy.
El-Sayed went further in that op-ed, accusing Obama of a sweeping record of failure on core issues that progressives once claimed to care about. This leader has perpetuated war, violated our civil liberties, deported more people from our shores than any other president before him, and the list of his failures goes on, he wrote, a far cry from the reverent tone he now adopts on the campaign trail.
The political calculus shifted on Oct. 6, 2026, when El-Sayeds campaign announced that Obama would headline an Oct. 24 rally on his behalf. The candidate, who once faulted Obama for poor choices, now lauds him for his elegance and commitment under pressure, underscoring how quickly principle can give way to political expedience in todays Democratic Party.
Speaking with Meet the Press host Kristen Welker, El-Sayed largely sidestepped his earlier attacks on Obama, who is campaigning with him ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. When Welker asked about his past criticisms, El-Sayed replied, Weve lived through two Trump terms now, so, look: I know that President Obama was handed a really difficult set of circumstances, and he did his best. I also want to step back. You know, Kristen, are your parents still with us?
After Welker said yes, El-Sayed pivoted to a personal analogy that seemed designed to soften his earlier rhetoric without fully owning it. Mine are too, and I think about my dad. I wouldnt have my life but for my dads efforts. So grateful for him. At the same time, theres a lot of things about my dad I would do differently, right? And its because when you intensely appreciate somebody whos done so much to make something that youre doing possible, youre both going to see the best of them and youre also going to see the things that you want to change.
From there, El-Sayed shifted into full-throated praise of the man he once accused of violating civil liberties and fueling war. I cant say how much I appreciate President Obama, he said, adding, And its because he was the president of my 20s. I mean, it was the first time I ever saw myself in politics He showed me something of myself I would never have seen without him.
But my job is to step up and pick up the baton and run as hard as I can, El-Sayed declared, framing himself as the heir to Obamas political project even as he tries to explain away his earlier broadsides. When asked whether there might be underlying awkwardness in campaigning alongside someone he had previously lambasted, he cast his younger self as merely impassioned and impatient.
I think the person who wrote those op-eds when I was younger, right? And I was angry about circumstances. And, you know, I think about that and you read Dreams From my Father, and I see echoes of somebody whos frustrated and wants things to be better, he said, suggesting that his past anger mirrors Obamas own youthful frustrations.
And thats not to say that there arent things that, you know, were going to push on in different ways than his administration led. For voters in Michigan, the episode raises a familiar question in an era defined by personality politics: whether Democratic candidates like El-Sayed stand on firm convictions or simply bend with the political winds as they seek to counter President Trumps second-term agenda.
Login