Abdul El-Sayed Criticized Obama for Years. Now They’re Campaigning Together

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed once said the U.S. was not “better off” under President Obama and that “the list of his failures goes on.” Now, the Michigan progressive is preparing to hit the campaign trail with the president he spent years criticizing.

In a July 2026 interview with the New Yorker, El-Sayed credited Obama as an inspiration but argued that the former president could have done more to advance his progressive vision.