Just two weeks after drawing widespread criticism for sharing the campaign trail with former Vice President Kamala Harris, first-time US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has found himself at the center of another political firestorm, this time over his announcement that former President Barack Obama will join him for a major campaign event ahead of November’s midterm elections.
With fewer than 30 days remaining before polls open, El-Sayed confirmed via social media platform X that Obama will appear alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson and the full Michigan Democratic ticket at a Detroit rally scheduled for October 24. The event is timed to launch the state’s in-person early voting period, which gets underway 10 days ahead of Election Day. In his post, El-Sayed wrote, “It is my honor and privilege to announce that President @BarackObama is joining us on the trail in Detroit on Saturday, October 24. Get Ready.”
El-Sayed is running for the open Michigan Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic incumbent Gary Peters, in a key race that will help determine partisan control of the chamber. The swing-state contest pits him against Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers. He secured the Democratic nomination back in August, scoring an upset win over Congresswoman Haley Stevens – a candidate who received nearly $30 million in support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group.
The announcement of Obama’s planned appearance triggered immediate backlash from critics, who centered their anger on the foreign policy record of Obama’s two-term presidency (2009–2017), particularly his administration’s widespread use of drone warfare and bombing campaigns across the Middle East and parts of Africa. Columbia University professor Anthony Zenkus summed up much of the criticism in an X post following the announcement, writing: “Barack Obama dropped 26,171 bombs on mostly poor black and brown people in the Middle East and Africa in 2016 alone. His own administration admitted that 90% of people killed with his drones were civilians. Wtf is wrong with you?”
This latest controversy comes on the heels of similar outrage over El-Sayed’s appearance with Kamala Harris last month, when critics accused the candidate of attempting to “rehabilitate” the former vice president. Progressives have widely rejected Harris over her unwavering support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to local health officials.
Critics have extended that same scrutiny to Obama, arguing that he laid the groundwork for the current conflict by building up decades of robust military and diplomatic alliance with Israel, a relationship that has enabled its military actions in Gaza. Author and Middle East commentator Ali Abunimah was among the most prominent voices pushing back against the alliance, writing in a post on X: “Baby butcher @BarackObama directly helped “Israel” slaughter 551 kids in Gaza in summer 2014. He provided “Israel” with the biggest aid package in history, arming and prepping it for this ongoing genocide which he has remained silent about. Obama launched the genocidal war on Yemen in 2015 and the CIA’s Operation Timber Sycamore in Syria. This monster had a literal Kill List, droning people all over the world. Few American leaders have as much blood on their hands. Vote @AbdulElSayed to whitewash more psychopathic war criminals!”
The twin controversies surrounding El-Sayed’s appearances with Harris and Obama have also sparked public questions about the authenticity of his stated positions on the Gaza conflict, with progressive observers pointing to the two high-profile Democrats’ unwavering support for Israel’s military campaign as inconsistent with the candidate’s purported progressive values.