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Abdul El-Sayed is taking his Senate campaign across four Michigan counties that voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Vanity Fair follows El-Sayed on the campaign trail as he meets with voters, hears their concerns, and makes his case for the Senate. As he campaigns across communities with diverse perspectives and priorities, the journey offers a closer look at the issues shaping the race and the voters who could help determine its outcome.
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00:02People would say, Abdul, you're running for U.S. Senate, and you're a Democrat, why would you even show up
00:09to Cairo? Don't you know it's brick red? I don't see brick red here. I see people. I see people
00:16who want to know what their next United States Senator thinks about things, and who want to have a conversation
00:21about it.
00:22So, if you've got a question, please write your name. That's cool. Will you disavow the muscle of brotherhood? Simple
00:28question. I'm asking you a simple question. You give me your name, I'll answer the question. Okay, Tommy. Hi, Tommy,
00:34how are you?
00:56Petoskey, how are we doing today?
01:02Real quick, disclaimer, there are going to be people in the room today who may not agree with all of
01:07us, may not agree with Abdul, people coming here with open minds or otherwise, but everyone here is welcome.
01:14If we disagree, we can disagree respectfully, because this campaign is built on kindness and respect, and that's what we
01:20all need to do here to move our country forward.
01:22Right?
01:23And I'm really honored to be able to introduce the man you've come here to see, our next United States
01:28Senator, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.
01:34All right, how are you doing for talking?
01:41If, like, an old lady comes up to you in the supermarket and it says, I know you're from somewhere,
01:46who are you?
01:48How do you respond to that?
01:49I usually just put out my hand and say, I'm Abdul, nice to meet you.
01:53And if she...
01:54The nice thing about having a name that's uncommon is that you're not very, that's not like one of many
01:59Abdul's that she probably knows.
02:00Yeah.
02:00So she either jogs her memory or she's like, nope, and I'm like, well, it's okay, you might know me,
02:06I'm running for office.
02:09And if she were to press you, if she were to say, what do you do for a living? How
02:13do you describe what you do?
02:15I would probably joke that I'm unemployed and I ask everybody I know for money.
02:20But that, you know, I'm a doctor by training, I rebuild health departments, and I'm running for US Senate.
02:27What do you say if you hear Abdul El-Sayed is too progressive to win?
02:31I don't know what progressive means.
02:33I really, like, nobody's giving me a definition of what progressive means.
02:36Are we speaking to politics of an era in the early 1900s?
02:40Are we speaking to a certain social milieu or speaking to certain economic policies?
02:45I am somebody who wants government to work for people.
02:48I've spent most of my career trying to make government work for people.
02:51I want you to have healthcare.
02:53I want you to have good schools.
02:54I want you to have good infrastructure.
02:56I want to build an economy that you can participate in rather than one that allows a billionaire to make
03:00a second billion when you can't even make your first hundred thousand.
03:04I want to know that our democracy really does work for people rather than against people.
03:10I want politicians to have to pay attention to the people they serve rather than the corporations who fund their
03:15campaigns.
03:16I want us to stop fighting wars.
03:17We don't need to be fighting.
03:19Does that make me progressive?
03:19I don't know.
03:20But that's what I'm about.
03:21Yeah.
03:21And that's what I'm keep fighting for.
03:22Yeah.
03:23And what I've found is that when you take those ideas to quote unquote red communities, most people are like,
03:29that makes sense to me.
03:30And they're like, great.
03:31Let's go do it.
03:33Hi, Abdul.
03:34Thank you so much for being in Petoskey and talking to us today.
03:37I've been looking forward to hearing from you.
03:39Can you tell us what you're going to do to keep all the Jewish communities in Michigan safe in this
03:46scary time?
03:48Yeah.
03:49What's your name?
03:50What's your name?
03:51My name is Val.
03:53Val Esmeen.
03:55I really appreciate your question.
03:58You know, I have some very personal experience with knowing what it's like to be discriminated against because of my
04:09faith.
04:11I want to build a Michigan and America where nobody is discriminated against for how they pray or if they
04:16pray.
04:16And to be honest, I wanted to ask them a harder question, but I felt like really in my heart,
04:23what I'm afraid of is what's happening to the Jews in not just in Michigan, but around the world right
04:29now.
04:29And it's really frightening for us.
04:32When Temple Israel had that terrorist attack and a car drove into their temple and nearly killed almost, they could
04:41have killed, there was a hundred children in that temple at that time.
04:45And if it weren't for the armed security guard that they had, those kids would be dead.
04:50And I firmly believe in my right to have a safe and secure place to call home, and that's Israel.
04:58I think there's a way to provide that safety for Jewish community, and there's a way to provide safety and
05:05security for Palestinians and have it be a productive homeland for everybody.
05:12You've said that you don't believe in ethnostates, and if there are Jewish Michiganders who feel like that statement alone
05:20makes them feel less safe, how do you respond to that?
05:23I might not get their votes. But the idea that one can sustain an ethnostate to the detriment of the
05:29murder of 70,000 children and think that that is somehow, you know, inconsistent or consistent with our values, we're
05:36just going to disagree.
05:36Do you plan to vote for Abdul?
05:42Is that going to be on camera?
05:45My feeling is that I don't have a great choice in this election, to be honest with you.
05:54And I'm not a one-issue voter.
05:56And I think Abdul's got it right on most of the things that I care about.
06:02Health care is huge. Politics is broken. I feel like he understands that.
06:10So, yes, I'm going to vote for Abdul.
06:13And I think it's important for the Jewish community to all stand together and vote for him as well.
06:17Because I think Mike Rogers is not a good answer for us and won't solve any of these problems.
06:25You said on a Fox News appearance...
06:27I feel really good about being able to bring communities together and beat Mike Rogers, who you and I both
06:32agree is a beta.
06:33Their alpha is Donald Trump. And then the rest of them are all betas. What does that make Mike Rogers?
06:39It's a choice.
06:40Does that mean you're an alpha?
06:42I don't know what that means. But I do know that if it's me or Mike Rogers, there's one person
06:47who's going to stand up and fight back.
06:48And there's one person who's going to turn around and take whatever orders come to him.
06:54So you know beta, but you don't know alpha?
06:57That's a choice for other people to make.
07:01Because the whole point of this campaign is to bring you with me to Washington, D.C.
07:05A lot of folks wonder, you know, why is it that you campaign this way?
07:08I'm like, oh, you guys don't understand. If the goal is simply to get elected, there are easier ways to
07:13get elected.
07:13But the goal is not just to get elected. That's not the point.
07:16The point is to do something with the seat in the first place.
07:21That's the point.
07:23It's not going to be my seat, it's going to be your seat.
07:27So if you've got a question, please raise your hand.
07:30Abdul, will you disavow the buzz of brotherhood?
07:33You give me your name, I'll answer the question.
07:35Okay, Tommy.
07:35Hi Tommy, how are you?
07:37I'm great.
07:37Are you?
07:38Do you know what the Constitution of the United States is?
07:41I have one simple question.
07:43Will you disavow the Muslim movement?
07:45Sure, yeah, absolutely.
07:45But I want to ask the question that you're asking.
07:48Why are you asking the question?
07:49Well, because they're a terrorist group.
07:52Okay.
07:53No, no, but what are you implying?
07:55Do you assume that I wouldn't?
07:57Yes.
07:58Why not?
07:58Because I have not heard you disavow them yet.
08:00Have you disavowed them?
08:01I haven't heard you disavow them yet.
08:02I disavowed them.
08:04All right.
08:04But here's the thing about it.
08:05You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties.
08:11Right?
08:12You assume that somehow I wouldn't disavow.
08:15Or that I'll have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution.
08:20Correct?
08:21Tommy, is that what you imply?
08:22Yes.
08:22Why would you think that about me?
08:24Because I have not heard you disavow them.
08:25No, no, no, no.
08:26Why would you actually think that about me?
08:28Because I have not heard you disavow them.
08:29But I just did.
08:29But why would you actually think that?
08:31Why would you...
08:31Have you asked everybody in your life if they disavowed me?
08:35I have not.
08:36So why are you asking me?
08:37Because I have not heard you disavow them.
08:38No, no, no.
08:39Answer the question, Tommy.
08:40Everybody knows the answer to it.
08:41Answer the question.
08:44All right.
08:44So let me just tell you.
08:46Let me just tell you.
08:47I'm going to swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States.
08:50And that Constitution guarantees us all the right to practice whatever faith we want,
08:55but no faith at all.
08:57And now, you assume, Tommy, that because I am Muslim, that somehow I would have some allegiance
09:06to something that is not our Constitution.
09:08That's your assumption.
09:10That's implicit in the question.
09:12And what's interesting to me is that this is not the first time people have asked those
09:16kinds of questions.
09:17Because...
09:18Do you know who John F. Kennedy is?
09:20Yeah.
09:20Do you know who that is, Tommy?
09:22I do.
09:22All right.
09:23Do you know what he was asked as the first possible Catholic president of the United States?
09:28What did they ask him?
09:29You don't remember?
09:30You should read history.
09:32Tommy, when he ran for president, he was asked whether or not he was going to have allegiance
09:38to the Pope at the Vatican because, of course, he's Catholic.
09:43And his answer, famously, was that he was not running to be a Catholic president.
09:47He was running to be president and happened to be Catholic.
09:50I'm not running to be a Muslim Senate.
09:55I'm running for U.S. Senate and happened to be Muslim.
10:01And so, you know, it's important, I think, because you would ask this question in a way
10:09that suggests that somehow our Constitution shouldn't be the thing that all of us bear
10:17allegiance to.
10:18And I'm just telling you that, for me, that Constitution is the guiding light.
10:23It guarantees me the right to pray as I choose to pray or not pray at all.
10:26It guarantees you the right to pray as you choose to pray or not pray at all.
10:33Now, Tommy, I'm going to ask you about your faith.
10:35Are you a man of faith?
10:36I am.
10:37What faith do you practice?
10:38I am a Christian.
10:39You're a Christian.
10:40Do you?
10:41No, no.
10:41I mean, it's a good question.
10:43Look, do you live by Christian doctrine?
10:46I would say so, yes.
10:48Good.
10:48And you try as hard as you can to live by Christian doctrine, right?
10:51Do you think I have to live by Christian doctrine?
10:53No.
10:54Do you?
10:55It's up to you.
10:55It's up to me, right?
10:56Why?
10:57Why is it up to me?
10:58Because we have free will.
11:00Right.
11:00Free will and also in this country, what else do we have?
11:04What else do we have, Tommy?
11:06Freedom.
11:06You tell me.
11:07No, I mean, you're asking me about my allegiance to the Constitution.
11:11It's the Constitution, my God.
11:12We have a Constitution.
11:13And that Constitution guarantees you the right to live by your faith.
11:17And guarantees me the right to do the same.
11:20And the reality of it is this.
11:22I'm never going to tell you what faith you can or can't practice.
11:25I want to protect your right to practice your faith as you choose as a Christian man.
11:31The implication, though, is that it seems like you don't want to protect my right to practice as I choose
11:40to pray.
11:42So I'm going to ask you.
11:45Do you disavow any attempt to read any religious doctrine into the laws of our country?
11:54I do not.
11:55You don't disavow that.
11:57So I think it's you who needs to understand the Constitution, not me.
12:00Best of luck to you, sir.
12:06That was the first time I've heard him disavow it.
12:09Yeah.
12:10Outright.
12:10Tommy, are you from here?
12:12Uh, no.
12:13How far did you drive from?
12:15Uh, an hour.
12:16An hour.
12:17Are you working?
12:19Are you in school?
12:20I am in school.
12:21You're in school?
12:21Yeah.
12:22In university?
12:23Yeah, well, not anymore.
12:24Okay.
12:25Finished?
12:25Yeah.
12:26Okay.
12:26What were you studying?
12:27I was doing marketing.
12:28Marketing?
12:29Yeah.
12:29Okay.
12:32What do you feel about Tommy?
12:34How did that hit you to have that moment?
12:36Tommy here?
12:37Yeah.
12:38Well, he came.
12:38Look, I'm all for a good conversation.
12:41I really am.
12:42And, you know, I think Tommy came in thinking he had a gotcha moment.
12:46And, again, sometimes the gotcha moments you had in your mind are a little bit more complicated
12:50when you actually have to have a conversation with a real person.
12:52I think, you know, Tommy came in thinking, or maybe he wasn't even thinking it, but, you
12:57know, his question implied that somehow I have dual loyalties.
12:59My loyalty is the Constitution of the United States.
13:02There is literally nothing about me or my background that should call that into question
13:05for anybody.
13:06I've been serving the public since, you know, I got into public service 11 years ago by 2015.
13:14And, you know, what came out was, you know, sometimes the ideology that assumes that
13:18somebody else doesn't believe in something implies that you don't, right?
13:21So, look, I want all of us to believe in the Constitution.
13:24The Constitution is the highest law of our land.
13:26And that, you know, because of our Constitution, nobody gets to dictate to anybody else how they
13:30pray, if they pray, who they love, how they love, right?
13:33I just want everybody to have basic freedoms.
13:34That's what this campaign is and has always been about.
13:37I don't need you to pray like me for me to protect your right to pray as you choose to
13:41pray
13:41or not pray at all, right?
13:42And that's the idea of the Constitution.
13:44That's what makes this country so incredible.
13:45It allows us to come together despite our differences, to build together what we can't have alone.
13:50So, I love that about our country.
13:52I hope Tommy learns to love that, too.
13:53Were you just funny that he walked out?
13:55Huh?
13:55No.
13:56I mean, it was his choice.
13:58I think he had a lot to think about after that.
13:59That is all Tommy Allen.
14:00Thank you, guys.
14:12You know, the assumptions that you have about what people think of you shouldn't get in your
14:17way.
14:17The assumptions that they have about you shouldn't get in your way.
14:20If you've got something to share, go share.
14:23But first, go listen.
14:24We've been all over the state.
14:25We're not going to a lot of places we haven't been already.
14:27We came and listened.
14:28We want to understand and we want to be able to offer that feedback.
14:31Here's what we could do.
14:32Whether you voted for Trump or you didn't vote for Trump, whichever way you voted, you deserve
14:36to know your politicians work for you.
14:37You deserve to know that you have a union at your workplace.
14:40You deserve to know that one good job is enough.
14:42You deserve to have housing.
14:43You deserve to have healthcare.
14:44You deserve to know that your tax dollars are going to work for you and your kids rather
14:47than destroying somebody else and their kids.
14:49So, I have something to say.
15:12So, I have something to say.