Obama rallies Michigan crowd, pledges El-Sayed will finish ACA work

Barack Obama took aim at Donald Trump's record and endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit on Saturday, drawing thousands to Cass Technical High School as Michigan early voting opened. Obama told the crowd El-Sayed is 'fighting for change, real change, that will get money out of politics and put money in your pocket.' The event also featured Jocelyn Benson, the party's candidate for governor, and Senator Elissa Slotkin.

Obama accused the president of 'enriching himself and his family' and said the administration had set a 'culture . at the top' of taking favors. 'Never seen a president so intent on selling favors like this,' he said. He also mocked defense secretary Pete Hegseth as 'laser-focused' on the 'jawline and testosterone levels of our troops,' asking the crowd: 'How much time do you think this man spends in front of the mirror every day?' On tariffs, Obama said Trump was toughest on 'that well-known evil empire,' meaning Canada, and joked that Trump should be on HGTV.

The rally marked Obama's first public show of support for El-Sayed, a doctor and former Wayne county health official. El-Sayed, a champion of Medicare for All, once described the Affordable Care Act as an incremental fix. Obama acknowledged that El-Sayed 'didn't like some things you did as president,' adding, 'We are not going to agree on every detail of every issue.' He told the crowd El-Sayed would 'finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act and guarantee quality, affordable healthcare to every single American.'

El-Sayed faces Mike Rogers, a former congressman endorsed by Trump who lost a 2024 Senate matchup against Elissa Slotkin by less than half a percentage point. The Cook Political Report rates the contest a toss-up. A Marist poll of likely voters conducted in mid-October put El-Sayed at 50% and Rogers at 48%, within the margin of error. Republicans have not held a Michigan Senate seat in 25 years.

El-Sayed has the most ground to make up in Wayne county, where Detroit is the county seat, after Haley Stevens beat him there by about 51% to 45% in the August primaries. Obama last campaigned in Detroit in October 2024 for Kamala Harris, and Harris herself appeared with El-Sayed in the city last month. If elected, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim and first Egyptian American in the US Senate. Trump is due in Michigan on Sunday for a rally with state Republicans in Port Huron.