密歇根州参议院候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德（D）周日回应了他过去对前总统奥巴马的批评，并表示他和其他民主党候选人“站在巨人的肩膀上”，就像前总统一样。NBC新闻《会见新闻》节目主持人克里斯汀·韦尔克尔询问了埃尔-赛义德他过去对奥巴马的言论。他在2012年奥巴马连任后在《赫芬顿邮报》的一篇社论中写道：“奥巴马不是正确的选择。他只是不是错误的那个。”
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) on Sunday addressed past criticism he made about former President Obama and said that he and other Democratic candidates "stand on the shoulders of giants" like the former president. "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker from NBC News asked El-Sayed about his past remarks on Obama. He wrote after the former president's reelection in 2012 in a Huffington Post op-ed that "Obama was not the right choice. He just wasn't the wrong one."
埃尔-赛义德还列举了他对奥巴马在驱逐移民和中东扩大无人机战争方面记录的分歧，以及其他批评。“嗯，我们现在已经经历了两个特朗普任期，”埃尔-赛义德回应道。“所以，看，我知道奥巴马总统面临着一套非常艰难的处境，他已经尽了最大努力。”埃尔-赛义德后来表示，他的竞选团队以及2026年的其他民主党候选人可能会“以不同于他政府的方式继续前进”。
El-Sayed also named off his disagreements with Obama's record of deportations and expansion of drone warfare in the Middle East, among other criticisms. "Well, we've lived through two Trump terms now," El-Sayed responded. "So, look, I know that President Obama was handed a really difficult set of circumstances, and he did his best." El-Sayed later said that his campaign and Democratic candidates in 2026 might "push on in different ways than his administration."
“但我们之所以以不同的方式前进，是因为我们从他所做的事情中吸取了教训，并且我们站在巨人的肩膀上，”这位密歇根州的民主党人说道。“因此，我很感激能在20多岁时成为一名年轻人，当时巴拉克·胡赛因·奥巴马是总统。否则我永远不会想象自己会参选。”埃尔-赛义德说他无法完全表达他对前总统的感激之情，并形容奥巴马具备“优雅、从容、在压力下的承诺”，因为他被“[前总统乔治·W·]布什时代”留下的“一篮子糟糕的事情”所困扰，而奥巴马“处理了这一切”。
"But it is to say that where we push differently is because we've learned from what he's done and because we stand on the shoulders of giants," the Michigan Democrat said. "And so, I am so grateful to have been a young man in my 20s with Barack Hussein Obama as president. I would never have seen myself running for office." El-Sayed said he could not fully express how much he appreciates the former president and described Obama as having the "elegance, the grace, the commitment under pressure" for being given "the basket of terrible things he was handed by the [former President George W.] Bush era" and that Obama "handled it all."
“你会逐渐意识到改变有多么艰难，以及坚持下来、继续推进有多么重要，”候选人说。奥巴马将于10月24日在底特律与埃尔-赛义德一起进行竞选活动，这一天是密歇根州（五大湖州）首次现场提前投票的日子，几乎是在前副总统卡马拉·哈里斯与埃尔-赛义德一起竞选一个月之后。
"You go up and you start to appreciate just how hard change is and how important it is to pick up and push," the candidate said. Obama is set to campaign with El-Sayed in Detroit on Oct. 24, the Great Lakes State's first day of in-person early voting, nearly one month after former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned with El-Sayed.
奥巴马还将与民主党州长候选人乔塞琳·本森一起竞选。埃尔-赛德上周二在一份声明中表示，他"迫不及待"奥巴马回到密歇根州，称他为"医疗保健获取的倡导者和我们时代的历史先驱"。"他知道为密歇根人付出意味着什么——这就是他两次赢得我们州的原因,"埃尔-赛德说。"他的支持至关重要，因为我们正努力通过降低成本和结束特朗普在华盛顿的混乱，把密歇根家庭放在首位。"
Obama will also campaign alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson. El-Sayed said in a statement last Tuesday that he "cannot wait" for Obama to return to Michigan, calling him "a champion for healthcare access and a historical trailblazer of our time." "He knows what it means to deliver for Michiganders – that’s why he won our state twice," El-Sayed said. "His support is critical as we fight to put Michigan families first by bringing down costs and ending Trump’s chaos in Washington."
《希尔报》的选举合作伙伴Decision Desk HQ预测，埃尔-赛德赢得参议院选举并击败共和党众议员迈克·罗杰斯（R-密歇根州）的概率为70%，而该选举分析师给予罗杰斯抵御民主党挑战的概率为30%。
The Hill's election partner Decision Desk HQ projects a 70-percent probability of El-Sayed winning the Senate race and defeating Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who the election handicapper gave a 30-percent probability of fending off the Democrat.