FULL PRESSER: Abdul El-Sayed Blasts Trump as Clyburn & Alsobrooks Back His Michigan Senate Bid — AC13

[0:00] Well, thanks to all of you for joining us today. [0:10] We are pleased to be here to continue our efforts on behalf of the next senator from [0:17] the state of Michigan. [0:20] Right after the primary, I made it very clear that I have stood in solid support of his [0:28] candidacy. [0:29] Abdul, I think, has run a great campaign. [0:33] It demonstrates what we're all about as a Democratic Party. [0:38] This is a party of a big tent. [0:41] It's been that way since my childhood. [0:43] I grew up in those activities of the 60s, graduated into the 70s and 80s, came to Congress in the [0:52] 90s, and we have been doing what we possibly can to make this great country of ours accessible [1:00] and affordable for all of our citizens. [1:03] And this campaign is about making health care and education accessible for all of our citizens. [1:11] It's about making housing and energy affordable for all of our citizens. [1:16] And it is about having candidates offer for office who will be accountable to all of our citizens. [1:25] And I'm pleased to be here today with members of the faith community and with my friend from [1:31] Maryland, Angie Ulsterbrooks, the senator from Maryland, who made history several years ago [1:39] in our own right to stand in solidarity behind the candidacy of Abdul El Saeed. [1:49] And so if we continue to offer government that's accessible, offer programs that are affordable and offer [2:04] candidates who will be accountable to the American people, we will succeed in this candidacy. [2:11] Everything else is a distraction from what we're all about. [2:17] And we know what we have in this young man for the future of this country. [2:24] And I'm pleased to be here with Senator Ulsterbrook, and I'm pleased now to yield these mics to [2:32] her. [2:33] And I am so proud of her. [2:35] Well, thank you. [2:36] I'm so glad to be here today. [2:38] I'm really honored to be here first with Congressman Clyburn, who I think we all recognize [2:44] as the conscience in so many ways of the Congress, who has stood flat-footed in so many instances [2:51] to point us in the right direction, in a moral direction. [2:54] So we thank you, sir, for lending us once again your leadership. [2:58] And you know what? [2:59] I'm here also with my brother, Dr. Abdul El Saeed, who will be joining us in the Senate [3:05] very soon. [3:07] And I want to be clear, the American people are not confused by what they are seeing. [3:11] We are resolute today and as optimistic as ever, because we know the American people are [3:16] waiting for us to answer an important question on Tuesday. [3:19] And that question is, what are we going to do about the fact that too many of them cannot [3:24] afford their groceries, too many of them cannot afford their gas. [3:28] We know that so many have had their health care canceled. [3:31] We know that many of them are wondering if we can send close to $50 billion to fight a [3:36] war that we didn't authorize and that we don't know how the hell to get out of. [3:40] Why is it that we can no longer afford for people to have health care and housing in this [3:44] country? [3:45] And so we are answering the question Tuesday for my 21 year old daughter and so many of [3:50] our children about what we intend to do about that and is that we intend to elect people [3:55] like Dr. El Saeed, who believes that all of our kids ought to do better than their parents [4:00] and grandparents. [4:01] And so we're not confused in this last minute by much of what we're seeing. [4:05] We think the American people understand it as well. [4:07] They know who caused their troubles. [4:10] It's my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who have lost, as far as I'm concerned, [4:14] the Republican Party has lost the moral authority to lead right now. [4:18] Many who didn't have the moral fortitude to stop what we have seen happening. [4:23] And so we are electing now Dr. El Saeed and so many up and down the ballot who will be [4:28] there on behalf of the American people. [4:30] So I am really pleased to stand here with him today and we're feeling good going into Tuesday [4:35] because, again, we have high confidence in the voters that they understand what they [4:40] are seeing and they know what must happen to take our country in the right direction. [4:46] And I want to thank also all the leaders of the faith community who are standing with us [4:49] as well tomorrow who know that we have an obligation. [4:51] I want to say this last thing. [4:53] I'm here from Maryland because I am a neighbor to Michiganders. [4:57] I'm a neighbor to my friends in South Carolina and we have an obligation as neighbors all to [5:01] each other to care how we do across this country. [5:04] So thank you so much, Dr. El Saeed. [5:06] Thank you. [5:07] Well, I just want to say how grateful I am to be standing here next to two folks who've [5:12] made history and are actively building the future that I want to hand off to my kids [5:16] and my grandkids. [5:17] Senator Also Brooks, first black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate in Maryland, third [5:24] black woman to be elected to the United States Senate in its history. [5:27] And then, of course, Congressman Clyburn, somebody who has been the conscious of the House, fighting [5:33] for a more equal America for a very long time. [5:35] And then I'm standing also with my brothers and sisters in the faith community, folks [5:39] who understand what it's like to have to claw for resources into communities that have been [5:45] left behind for a very long time. [5:47] I just want to set the stage for what this race is actually about. [5:50] I launched this campaign back in April of 2025 in the aftermath of the disastrous decision [6:00] by the Trump administration to freeze federal funds. [6:04] And I've been serving in these communities for more than a decade as Detroit's health director, [6:09] as Wayne County's director of health, human and veteran services, working with alongside [6:15] communities to take on problems like the fact that kids couldn't get glasses when they [6:18] needed them, that our kids' schools were underfunded, that we had smokestacks that were pushing [6:24] out putrid air into the lungs of our babies, that black moms and babies die too early, that [6:32] we watch as our communities drown in medical debt. [6:36] Those are the issues that I've been working alongside folks in this community to solve for [6:39] a very, very long time. [6:42] And when they froze federal funds, to me, that was the moment where I realized that the [6:46] fight for the public's health, the public's well-being needed to go to the United States [6:51] Senate. [6:52] It was the same day that our current U.S. Senator, Garrett Petersen, announced that he was retiring [6:55] and there was going to be an open U.S. Senate seat. [6:57] Now, it was a crowded primary, right? [7:00] And there were a lot of issues. [7:02] But one of the most important issues was simply the fact that I think we should spend our tax [7:06] dollars here, that I want our money spent here to build infrastructure here and build [7:10] schools here and build opportunity here and build health care here and childcare here, [7:14] rather than sent abroad to do the worst things, the most heinous things to other people. [7:18] And you see it right now in a form of a war we shouldn't be fighting that we're all paying [7:20] for in our tax dollars that we're all paying for in the price of gas we're paying for in [7:24] the price of groceries. [7:26] We have a system of government that too often is more interested in sending our money to [7:29] fight wars abroad rather than to do good things here at home, to subsidize foreign militaries [7:34] rather than to subsidize domestic schools. [7:38] And therein lies a big foundational difference. [7:41] Look, we won that primary despite a record amount of outside spending in that race against [7:47] us. [7:49] Seventy million dollars. [7:50] Got outspent eleven to one. [7:52] Never has there been more money spent against a single candidate running in any primary race [7:57] in American history. [7:58] But we were able to build a movement of by and for the people against the corporate money [8:02] that had flooded in, against the special interest money. [8:05] And we were able to win that race. [8:06] Now, three months ago, right, we had all realized that as a party the thing that we were standing [8:11] up against was the thing that kicked off my campaign in the first place, a Trump administration [8:15] that could care less about funding the things that matter here. [8:18] The Trump administration that has taken us to this war in Iran he doesn't know how to [8:21] get us out of, that's raising the price of gas and groceries. [8:24] Trump administration that's making tariff war on Canada. [8:27] Trump administration that passed the big ugly bill, the single biggest transfer of money [8:31] from the poor in this country to the rich in this country in American history. [8:35] We were all united in the responsibility, the goal to take that on. [8:39] Here's the thing about it. [8:41] My focus has never wavered. [8:43] I have been clear about what our responsibilities are. [8:47] So rather than focus on a distraction about who said what to whom, where they went, I've [8:51] been consistent. [8:53] I want to get money out of politics. [8:56] I want to put money back in pockets. [8:58] I want Medicare for all. [9:00] I want to take on the heinous price of gas, the ridiculous price of groceries, the fact that [9:05] people in the richest, most powerful country in the world cannot see a doctor, the notion [9:08] that we should continue to breathe unclean air or unclean water. [9:12] That has been the focus of this campaign since April of 2025 when we kicked it off. [9:16] It's what we said in rooms across the state, 700 public events, 120 different cities now. [9:22] It's what I've said in every interview with probably every single one of you, right? [9:25] It's what I said on TV. [9:27] It's what I said while I was trying to fall asleep at night. [9:29] It is the goal of this campaign. [9:31] And Michiganders understand that we don't want to keep paying too much for gas. [9:36] We don't want to keep paying too much for groceries. [9:37] We don't want to watch our tax dollars get spent somewhere else on a war we shouldn't [9:41] be fighting. [9:42] We want our tax dollars spent here on schools here. [9:44] That's what Michiganders are focused on. [9:46] So I have a sense that you all are here today because of the decisions of somebody who's not [9:51] here right now. [9:52] Am I right about that? [9:53] Yes. [9:54] But I'm just going to tell you, this is a state of 10 million people who deserve a lot better [9:57] from their government. [9:58] I'm a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones you guys are talking about. [10:08] They pay too much in gas. [10:09] They pay too much in groceries. [10:11] They're worried about the quality of their kids' schools. [10:13] They're worried about the quality of the air and the water that they drink. [10:16] That's what we should be focused on. [10:17] So I'm going to ask when we take questions that you keep your questions focused on the [10:21] issues that Michiganders really care about. [10:23] Now that might not drive clicks for you. [10:24] I get it. [10:25] I understand your business, right? [10:27] But they're the issues that Michiganders are paying attention to. [10:30] And I'm not in the business of driving clicks for you. [10:32] I'm in the business of trying to solve problems for the people in my state. [10:35] So if you want to ask me questions about the issues that the people in my state are facing, [10:38] I am happy to answer them. [10:39] If you want to ask me questions about some intrigue and about two folks who aren't here right [10:43] now, I'm going to be less interested in asking. [10:45] I'm just putting it out there. [10:47] Thank you. [10:48] We have time for a couple quick questions. [10:50] We'll go right here to the front. [10:51] Whatever you can hear, honestly. [10:53] So I heard Don. [10:54] Yeah. [10:55] Don. [10:56] Today is the Sunday before Election Day. [10:58] Historically, this is the day where we take souls to the polls. [11:02] Today is the last day of early voting in Michigan. [11:05] And I'm here with some of the most important faith leaders in our state to get souls out [11:10] to the polls. [11:11] So it's important to me because democracy is important to me, because making sure every [11:14] vote is heard is important to me, because they've been attacking voting rights and voting [11:18] rights are important to me, because I want folks to understand, right, that we are united [11:23] in the goal of getting money out of politics, putting money in your pocket, passing Medicare [11:26] for all. [11:27] But the only way we do that is because people show up to be a part of their civic process. [11:31] And that means showing up to vote today or on Tuesday. [11:33] Do you believe that Haley Stevens has betrayed the Republican Party? [11:45] She didn't hear what I just said. [11:46] Has she betrayed the Republican Party? [11:47] Has she betrayed the Democratic Party? [11:48] I don't know what that party is anymore. [11:49] I don't know. [11:50] Has she betrayed the Democratic Party? [11:51] At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens. [11:54] See what I'm saying? [11:55] Like, I think about the, like I said, the 9,999,998 people who are not those two. [12:02] Because you know what? [12:03] I'm just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all. [12:09] And so, look, if you're somebody who believes that we ought to have more rights, not less, [12:14] then I would think you would support me in this race. [12:16] If you are somebody who believes that we should stand up to hate, and you have watched this [12:20] last campaign, I think we probably would not want to support Mike Rogers and Donald Trump [12:25] and JD Vance. [12:26] If you're somebody who believes that we need more health care, not less, then you probably [12:30] don't want to vote for the guy who voted to raise prescription drug prices or keep them [12:33] high 19 times and takes money from big pharma and big insurance. [12:37] If you're somebody who believes that we need funding for infrastructure, you probably don't [12:42] want to support the guy who is more interested in sending your money or passing tax cuts for [12:46] billionaires than funding infrastructure. [12:48] If you're somebody who believes in public education, you probably do not want to support [12:51] the guy who architected the initial legislation in 1999 that ended up stripping local control [12:57] from Detroit public schools and the local community. [13:00] If you're somebody who believes that you should have a right to a union, you probably don't [13:05] want to support the guy who busts unions. [13:07] So I'm just saying that the principles that we believe in as Democrats are really quite clear. [13:12] I stand for all of them. [13:42] You know what matters? [13:43] You know what matters? [13:44] There's a family. [13:45] You can go like 15 minutes that way or 15 minutes that way or 15 minutes that way. [13:49] And there are families who are preparing to send their kids to schools tomorrow that look [13:53] like they did 50 years ago. [13:54] They're worried about what they're going to feed their kids for lunch. [13:57] They're worried that if one of their kids gets sick, they're not going to be able to pay [14:00] the bills. [14:01] Those are the things that matter. [14:02] I would hope, I would hope, honestly, like you guys, we have a democracy, right? [14:06] Democracy is founded on a couple of things. [14:08] The ability to vote, yes, and they're trying to take it away. [14:10] The other one is freedom of assembly, and the third is freedom of the press. [14:16] But y'all, please, I would hope that you all want to ask questions that are relevant to [14:20] that family. [14:21] They're the ones who matter. [14:23] The rest of this, just a distraction. [14:24] Thank you so much. [14:25] Is the Democratic Party risk-averse to support progressives? [14:27] Is this just another example of that? [14:29] God bless you. [14:30] Anybody? [14:31] Dr. Al-Sayed. [14:35] Yeah, let me get my- [14:43] Oh, are you going? [14:44] Let's go. [14:45] I'm driving that way. [14:48] I have my heartbeat. [14:51] It's like sometimes medical stuff. [14:54] Good morning.