Video taking off 28x its usual first day

"We had a primary, right?" El-Sayed wants questions about costs

USA TODAY's Michigan campaign clip captures the Democratic Senate nominee redirecting questions about Haley Stevens toward groceries, gas and healthcare.

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USA TODAY Story of November 2, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 243,076 views a day, 28 times a normal first day on this channel (8,682).

'We had a primary, right?' Abdul El-Sayed responds to Haley Stevens attacks before midterm elections

He wants different questions. Facing reporters in Sterling Heights, Abdul El-Sayed asks them to focus on Michigan voters' household costs rather than attacks from his former Democratic primary opponent, Haley Stevens.

"I am for getting money out of politics, putting money in your pocket, passing Medicare for All," he says in USA TODAY's clip, filmed October 31. Asked about the primary, he answers: "We had a primary, right? And the outcomes of the primary are what they were." His general-election opponent, he stresses, is Republican Mike Rogers.

The exchange comes amid a breakdown in efforts to present a united Democratic front. USA TODAY reports that El-Sayed's campaign asked Stevens not to attend his campaign events after she demanded that he condemn an outside PAC's advertisement as antisemitic. The ad linked American cost-of-living pressures to aid to Israel; Stevens also sought an apology for El-Sayed's own campaign rhetoric. El-Sayed says the advertisements being raised with him were not made by his campaign.

The Short drew more than 170,000 views in thirteen hours, far beyond USA TODAY's usual start for that format. A separate upload of his response also attracted an unusually large early audience.

Alongside the press exchange, the main clip includes El-Sayed's appeal against exclusionary politics. He describes an America where Jewish, Christian and Muslim people all feel safe, then closes by emphasizing both the value and fragility of democracy.

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