Politics

‘Think Of My Dad’: Abdul El-Sayed Defends Campaigning With Obama After Criticizing Him During Presidency

Conlan Houston, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Democratic nominee for an open Michigan Senate seat, Abdul El-Sayed, rolled back previous criticisms by him of former President Barack Obama during a Sunday interview with NBC News.

In a 2012 Huffington Post op-ed in which El-Sayed pondered, “Can Obama come through on the promises of four years ago?”, he concluded, “Maybe — but not if we continue to brush his poor choices under the table because he’s better than the alternative, or because they were ‘hard choices,’ or because we like the guy.”

“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,” the then-28-year-old assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University added.

On Oct 6, 2026, however, El-Sayed’s campaign announced Obama would be present at an Oct 24. rally for El-Sayed. The Democratic hopeful subsequently praised Obama for his “elegance” and “commitment under pressure.”

Speaking with “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker, El-Sayed glossed over his past criticisms of Obama, who is campaigning with him before the 2026 midterm elections conclude Nov. 3.

When asked about his previous criticisms, El-Sayed replied, “We’ve 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 the host answered affirmatively, he continued, “Mine are too, and I think about my dad. I wouldn’t have my life but for my dad’s efforts. So grateful for him. At the same time, there’s a lot of things about my dad I would do differently, right? And it’s because when you intensely appreciate somebody who’s done so much to make something that you’re doing possible, you’re both going to see the best of them and you’re also going to see the things that you want to change.”

“I can’t say how much I appreciate President Obama,” he added, before offering effusive praise of the 44th president of the United States. “And it’s 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,” he concluded before being asked if there could be “underlying awkwardness” when campaigning with a person he previously lambasted.

“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 who’s frustrated and wants things to be better.”

“And that’s not to say that there aren’t things that, you know, we’re going to push on in different ways than his administration led.”