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Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday described America’s political system as a “disease” moments after professing his love for the country where he was raised.
El-Sayed delivered blistering attacks on the American political system during the final stop of “The People v. The Powerful” tour at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids.
He spoke at the event alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as the trio criticized President Donald Trump, party leaders, corporations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Egyptian American physician and former public health official first reflected on the opportunities he said America had afforded him, noting he received an “incredible” public university education and a medical education funded through the National Institutes of Health.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., from left, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speak during the “The People v. The Powerful” campaign event at the Detroit Opera House in Detroit on July 18, 2026. (Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“No, don’t get it twisted. I love America. I know exactly what America gave to me. I know what my life would have been, but for America,” El-Sayed said. “I know what America can do, and at the same time, it’s impossible not to reflect on the worst moments of those 250 years as well.”
He then argued that Trump was merely a symptom of broader problems in American politics.
“Donald Trump is not, himself, the disease of our politics. He’s just the worst symptom of the disease of our politics,” El-Sayed said.
“The disease? It’s the system that allows corporations and billionaires and special interests like AIPAC to buy and sell politicians to rig the system against us.”
Ocasio-Cortez also echoed that message moments prior, telling the crowd, “You deserve a politics that treats the disease and not the symptoms.”
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Michigan Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at “The People v. The Powerful” rally at the Detroit Opera House on July 18, 2026, in Detroit. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
El-Sayed then targeted the nation’s healthcare system, arguing that medical debt should be eliminated and contrasting its cost with federal spending on political campaigns and foreign aid.
“Medical debt shouldn’t exist,” he said, claiming the country’s roughly $225 billion in medical debt could be erased for about $2.25 billion because it can be purchased “for a penny on the dollar.”
He later turned his attention to ICE, calling it a “rogue agency” that should not exist.
“ICE has nothing to do with immigration. ICE has nothing to do with the southern border. ICE is about normalizing paramilitary forces on our streets. ICE is about weaponizing the idea of immigration against the Constitution itself. ICE cannot be reformed. ICE cannot be retrained. ICE has to be abolished.”
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders joined Abdul El-Sayed during the final stop of “The People v. The Powerful” tour at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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The Senate hopeful also described himself as “dangerous” to a range of political and corporate interests, including health insurers and Democratic leaders.
“If you’re Blue Cross Blue Shield, I’m dangerous,” he said. “If you’re Chuck Schumer, trading politicians like trading cards, I’m dangerous.”
