Barack Obama told a crowd in Detroit on Saturday that Abdul El-Sayed was “fighting for change, real change, that would take money out of politics and put money in your pockets” as he backed the Democratic Senate candidate and the rest of the field on the first day of early voting in Michigan.
Obama told thousands of spectators at Detroit’s Cass Technical High School that El-Sayed would “finish the work we started with the Affordable Care Act and ensure quality, affordable health care for every American.”
The former president headlined the rally for El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the party’s candidate for governor, in an evening intended to “get out the vote.”
He accused Donald Trump of “enriching himself and his family” and said the administration had established a “culture…at the top” of accepting favors. “I have never seen a president so determined to sell favors like this,” he said.
The rally took place on the first day of Michigan’s early voting period, with the general election set for November 3. It was also Obama’s first weekend of in-person campaigning during the midterm elections, which kicked off in Cleveland, Ohio, earlier in the day against former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton earlier in the weekend. He made equally scathing remarks about the White House and the Republican Party.
The Detroit stop is Obama’s first public show of support for El-Sayed, who emerged from a bitter August primary in which the former president stayed on the sidelines. El-Sayed, a physician and former Wayne County health official, defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, who had the support of the Democratic establishment and pro-Israel organizations.
Obama was on the offensive against the administration, mocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as “laser-focused” on “our troops’ jawlines and testosterone levels,” asking, “How much time do you think this man spends in front of the mirror every day?”
When it came to tariffs, Obama said Trump was toughest on “this well-known evil empire,” referring to Canada, located a short drive across the bridge from Detroit. “These are the people who gave us Martin Short and maple syrup,” he said.
He even criticized Trump’s attempts to renovate the White House. “It should be on HGTV,” Obama said of Washington’s many renovations, including the White House Ballroom and Rose Garden. “He makes the White House look like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory.”
Questions remained about whether Obama would support El-Sayed. El-Sayed, a supporter of Medicare for All, had at one point called the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature domestic achievement, a progressive solution. The two spoke on the phone after the primary, and El-Sayed has since called Obama a mentor.
El-Sayed has the most ground to make up in Wayne County, where Detroit is the county seat, after Stevens beat him there by about 51% to 45% in the August primary. Obama last campaigned in Detroit — which is more than three-quarters black — in October 2024 for Kamala Harris, and Harris herself appeared with El-Sayed in Detroit last month.
Republicans haven’t held a Michigan Senate seat in 25 years, but the party views this seat as one of its best chances to win a seat nationally. El-Sayed faces Mike Rogers, a former Donald Trump-backed congressman who lost a 2024 Senate race to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin by less than half a percentage point. The Cook Political Report considers this race a toss-up.
Slotkin, one of the rally’s featured speakers, told the crowd that “Michigan believes in electing fighters.” And when it came to disagreements she might have with El-Sayed, she said, “It doesn’t matter because we agree on many other things.” »
“We are putting a check and balance on Donald Trump in the White House,” she said.
A mid-October poll of likely voters statewide put El-Sayed at 50 percent and Rogers at 48 percent, within the margin of error. The RealClearPolitics average gave El-Sayed a lead of about 2.6 points in a similar time frame.
Trump attacked El-Sayed throughout the campaign, calling him a “jihadist,” emphasizing his middle name and alleging he had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which El-Sayed strongly denies, and created one of the most viral moments of the year. El-Sayed also faced widespread criticism from the establishment wing of the Democratic Party over his appearances with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker.
Trump himself is expected in the state on Sunday, when he will hold a rally for Michigan Republicans in Port Huron, on the Canadian border. The city said this will be the first presidential visit to St. Clair County.
If elected, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim and first Egyptian-American to serve in the U.S. Senate. Benson faces Republican Congressman John James; a James victory would make him Michigan’s first black governor.
Regarding disagreements between them, Obama acknowledged that some people had pointed out that El-Sayed “didn’t like some of the things you were doing as president.” “We’re not going to agree on every detail of every issue,” he said. “You know who else doesn’t agree with everything I do? Michelle Obama.”
“We share these values of making sure that everyone has a fair chance in this society,” Obama said, “and that the system doesn’t just work for those at the top.”
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