Now, an old video shows the Michigan Senator-elect being praised by Bill Clinton years before he even entered politics. Abdul El-Sayed created history in the 2026 midterms by becoming the first Muslim to be elected to the US Senate.
The camera then zooms in on then-valedictorian El-Sayed. Abdul El-Sayed recalled meeting Bill Clinton on Jon Stewart’s podcast, The Weekly Show. “After the speech, President Clinton comes up to me. He laughed and added that it was not a typical question someone gets “when you go to medical school. “And I’m like, that’s some crazy bulls***. He used to work as Detroit’s health director. El-Sayed studied medicine at Columbia University. He also earned a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He then worked on several public health projects and put in efforts towards rebuilding Detroit’s Health Department after the city went through bankruptcy. In the midterms, El-Sayed defeated Mike Rogers.
El-Sayed, 42, is a Michigan-born Egyptian American. From 2023 to 2025, he was the director of the Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services. He got 52.5% of the votes, while Rogers received 45.5%.
“I don’t want to embarrass your senior speaker,” Clinton said, “But I wish every person in the world who believes that we are fated to have a clash of civilisations, and cannot reach across the religious divides, could have heard you speak today. “I just wish every person in the world could have heard you speak today,” Clinton added. He said that Clinton had advised him to consider a career in politics. He’s like, ‘Son, why are you going to medical school?'” El-Sayed told Stewart. “My whole life, all of my mentors have told me I’m going to run for office,” El-Sayed explained to Stewart.
Abdul El-Sayed had earlier revealed that Bill Clinton had asked him to consider a career in politics instead of medicine.
El-Sayed was the valedictorian and gave a speech on the occasion. Moments after the valedictorian speech, Clinton addressed the crowd and praised Abdul El-Sayed’s oratory skills. A clip from the 2007 University of Michigan commencement has been doing the rounds on social media.
