Video taking off 35x its usual first day

El-Sayed wants action on Democrats' mandate, leaves Schumer vote open

In ABC's "This Week" interview, Michigan's senator-elect also says he would meet Trump if it could advance legislation for his state.

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ABC News Story of November 9, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 1,022,840 views a day, 35 times a normal first day on this channel (29,178).

El-Sayed: Dems need a leader who will ‘deliver on the mandate that we just got’

Things we can learn from the video

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0:26El-Sayed credits a grassroots campaign focused on policies including Medicare for All, despite being heavily outspent.
2:40He criticizes Trump's decisions on foreign policy, tariffs and healthcare.
4:15He says he would meet Trump if doing so could advance legislation benefiting Michigan.
5:16On Schumer's leadership, he says his vote depends on the alternatives and calls for immediate action.
6:40Karl plays El-Sayed's graduation speech and Clinton's praise before asking about his path into politics.

Winning is the starting point. For Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, the next test is whether Democratic leaders turn their election gains into action.

Speaking with Jonathan Karl on ABC's "This Week," El-Sayed calls for leadership ready to act aggressively from the outset. But when Karl returns to his campaign criticism of Chuck Schumer, El-Sayed stops short of committing to a leadership vote.

"As you know, a vote is a choice between two or more options. I don't know what those options are," he says.

That distinction runs through the interview: sharp criticism does not rule out working together. El-Sayed describes his pragmatic work with Schumer while pressing for more ambitious leadership. "We've got to treat this as the floor, not the ceiling," he says of Democrats' gains.

He takes a similar approach to President Donald Trump. After criticizing Trump's decisions on tariffs, healthcare and foreign policy, El-Sayed says he would be willing to meet him if it would help deliver legislation benefiting Michigan.

The interview drew about 645,000 views in ten hours, a much faster start than ABC News' usual regular uploads. Sunday's full "This Week" broadcast, which also includes interviews with Hakeem Jeffries and Keisha Lance Bottoms, is drawing an unusually large audience too.

Karl closes with a different kind of political introduction: footage of El-Sayed's college graduation speech in 2007 and Bill Clinton's praise afterward. El-Sayed reflects on the path from his medical ambitions to elected office, and the encouragement he took from Clinton and Barack Obama.

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