El-Sayed's viral British moment
The Michigan senator-elect once praised UK politics during his Oxford years, a stance he now playfully rejects.
By Simon Bennett ·
Abdul El-Sayed’s clip of him dismissing a British reporter has been viewed more than 13 million times on X.
The exchange occurred in the tense final hours before his election as a Michigan senator in Tuesday’s midterms. When James Matthews of Sky News attempted to ask a question, El-Sayed placed both hands on the reporter’s shoulders and asked why he would care to have a conversation. He stated that he wanted zero votes in the UK and never intended to run for office there, adding that he did not care what Matthews thought or what questions he asked.
El-Sayed’s current dismissal contrasts with his views expressed in May 2010. At that time, he was a 25-year-old doctoral student at Oxford University. He wrote an article for The Guardian arguing that UK democracy held the upper hand on the US. This assessment came after he attended a Labour party hustings in Bethnal Green and Bow in east London. He described the event as a ceremony in communal self-determination that he had not seen in any federal American electoral institution.
He noted that smaller British constituencies allowed minority groups to be heard more easily than in US districts. He also praised the focus on local concerns and the role of multiple parties in fostering community solidarity. El-Sayed, who is the son of Egyptian immigrants to the US, admitted to being initially skeptical of British democracy but left the event feeling envious.
His path to the Senate was not without conflict. The campaign faced a barrage of racism and Islamophobia. Donald Trump mocked his name and called him a “jihadist lunatic,” suggesting the Senate would need a special metal detector for him. Haley Stevens, the Democrat congresswoman El-Sayed narrowly defeated for the nomination, endorsed his Republican rival at the last minute. El-Sayed also drew attention for wearing tight black T-shirts to show off his physique, a look described as “jacked” by BBC North America editor Sarah Smith.
El-Sayed returned to the US in 2011 after completing his doctorate in public health and captaining the Oxford lacrosse team against Cambridge, a match in which he received a yellow card. In his last piece for The Guardian in January 2011, he challenged Barack Obama’s response to the Arab spring, referencing his own vote for the 44th president.
Following his election on Tuesday, El-Sayed addressed Trump with a quip from his campaign trail. He acknowledged that Trump struggled with his name and suggested that after JD Vance swears him in in January, Trump can call him senator.
