00:00I stand with Haley, I'm going to tell you, because I do believe that the far-left liberals have a
00:06different agenda.
00:08They are hijacking the traditional Democratic Party, literally hijacking it,
00:14and the Democratic leadership is sitting around allowing it to happen.
00:18I won't say who I'll be voting for, but I will be splitting my ticket.
00:22I am a lifelong Democrat. I am.
00:26And not just one who sits around, but one who was also served as the first Democratic floor leader
00:34in the history of the Michigan House of Representatives.
00:36There's no question about my loyalty to the Democratic Party.
00:42But I have my doubts about whether or not the Democratic Party has the ability to be loyal to individuals
00:50like myself.
00:51Because once you start to say that I don't agree with you on certain things,
00:57then they become very mean-spirited, throwing language at you, hateful, violent language.
01:05You know, basically say you get in your place.
01:08You don't have the right to think is what they're saying.
01:11And so I decided that I should have all of my people to think.
01:20Just think, folks.
01:22You don't have to put all of your eggs in one basket.
01:26First of all, what I've learned about Mike Rogers is that he's not egotistical.
01:32He's not.
01:34He's the type of person that listens.
01:36He wants to understand what your needs are.
01:40Those things are important.
01:42I appreciate that.
01:44I do.
01:45I like it when elected officials don't act as if they know what's best for you,
01:50but they are willing to hear you out.
01:53And he has that type of decency.
01:56He has gone throughout the city to a number of places, getting to know people.
02:01He has been embraced by people here in this city.
02:06He opened up a campaign office on Livernois in this city.
02:11He wants those relationships.
02:14He's working hard to earn the votes from the people here in the city of Detroit.
02:19Abdul, he's a smart guy.
02:22He's quick on his feet.
02:23I think he understands what some of the issues are,
02:26having worked at the health department.
02:28I think that's probably one of his strengths.
02:31And so I'm hoping he will use that knowledge
02:36and work with members of the local municipalities
02:41so that he can better understand what those kitchen table issues are.
02:45We have literacy issues here in the city of Detroit.
02:47We have housing issues here in the city.
02:52Jobs issues here in the city.
02:55Those are the kinds of things that we want people to be able to work on immediately.
03:01And those are the kinds of things that Mike Rogers said he would do.
03:06When we met, he specifically named some of those issues
03:11and a couple more, helping small businesses to survive.
03:18These are immediate things.
03:19These are things that are near and dear to my heart, frankly,
03:22because I've been working on those things since I've been here at the city, on city council.
03:27You've got to have people.
03:29Well, President Trump is going to be there at least another, what, two years?
03:31At least, you need to be able to work with President Trump.
03:36You know, he will still be the president for whomever gets there.
03:40And we want somebody to be able to go to him on behalf of the city of Detroit
03:45and say, hey, President Trump, I'm going to need $100 million
03:49to help the city of Detroit with ABC.
03:52We want a person that care enough about our city to do exactly that.
03:58But, Abdul, you know, he's pretty set in his ways.
04:03I think, just my own personal observations,
04:06he has a very headstrong way about him, if you will.
04:11You know, and so that's concerning for me.
04:15Once he gets into the Senate,
04:17will he be the type of person that I can call on behalf of the city of Detroit?
04:23I certainly hope so, but I don't know.
04:26He has not demonstrated that to me that I'll be able to do that, you know.
04:33Now, I do know him.
04:35I met him a couple of years ago.
04:38I think the first time that I met him was in 2016, but that was over the phone.
04:43But two years ago, I met him.
04:45I was in a room in a meeting with him.
04:48And so he demonstrated that he had a very strong personality then.
04:53At that time, it was not the most pleasant meeting.
04:57But with Mike Rogers, he has a little bit more of a softer landing.
05:01So he's the type of person that I can call up and I can say,
05:06what about this?
05:08Can you help us with this?
05:10I do, just based on the knowledge that I have of him,
05:16that he would be willing to listen and that he'll do whatever he can.
05:21Rogers has said that.
05:23He has specifically said,
05:26we can work together, Mary.
05:29I like that because that's what I want to be able to do.
05:33You can split your ticket if you want to.
05:37That is certainly up to the voter to split their ticket if they want to split their ticket.
05:42You might see a Republican that you like.
05:45You go, oh, I want to vote for that person.
05:46And so you vote for that person.
05:48And then you say, well, but I prefer the Democrat in this category.
05:51You go back over and you vote for that Democrat.
05:54Those are the options that you have.
05:56And I want people to feel free to exercise those options if that's what they choose to do.
06:04You voted for Kamala Harris.
06:05I did.
06:06Yes, I did.
06:07And I was pretty upset, frankly, because the rest of them would not.
06:11The uncommitted people, once we got around to November,
06:16they refused to vote for Kamala Harris.
06:19In fact, they voted for President Trump.
06:21And that was their right to do so.
06:23Except now, you've heard the saying that she was on the other foot.
06:28So now they're saying to black people,
06:30no, you have to take this vote for Abdul because so much is at stake.
06:36Well, there was a lot at stake in 2024, too.
06:39I just don't think that it's right,
06:41that you want to just hold black people's feet to the fire,
06:47but you weren't willing to do the same thing.
06:50That's hypocrisy.
06:51And it's not right.
06:53We are still a divided party.
06:55We are.
06:56I don't care what they say.
06:58And that's evident in the way that Haley Stevens was treated,
07:02even at the Democratic Convention.
07:04They booed her.
07:05That set that campaign trail off with a bad tone from that time.
07:12And so, but I still say,
07:14had Mallory McMorrow not been in the race,
07:17Haley Stevens would have been the nominee.
07:20Well, what I'd like to say to Detroiters
07:24and to black people throughout the state,
07:28vote your issue.
07:30Don't worry about what party they represent.
07:36Just vote it.
07:37If you've heard some Republicans say some things,
07:42if you believe that they will be the person that you can call on,
07:46you can communicate with regarding your issue,
07:49then you vote for that person.
07:51You vote for the other person.
07:53If you have a Democrat you believe
07:57will take care of those kitchen table issues for you,
08:01then that's what you do.
08:03For me, those kitchen table issues,
08:06based on what I know the needs are
08:09for my constituents here in the city of Detroit,
08:12I've got to consider those.
08:14I know what some immediate needs are for jobs and housing
08:17and the literacy crisis that we have here
08:20in the state of Michigan.
08:2288% here in the city of Detroit
08:25are not reading at grade level.
08:27Michigan ranks about 46th in the country.
08:30We have a crisis.
08:33And that's what we have.
08:36Now, we've had Democrats
08:40in charge of the state for the last, what, eight years.
08:44We have not fixed the literacy issue.
08:47There's something wrong with that.
08:50I don't know what all the answers are for that,
08:53but I can tell you we need answers
08:56and we need people to care enough
08:58to help us to fix it.
