Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, called President Donald Trump an “unserious fool” during an appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” pointing to decisions on Iran, tariffs on Canada and Medicaid cuts as evidence.
Host Jonathan Karl pressed El-Sayed on the comment, asking how he planned to work with the administration while using that kind of language. “You said that Democrats should drop the decorum and treat Trump, these were your words, as the unserious fool that he is. So how is that going to work? How are you going to deliver on your promises?” Karl asked.
El-Sayed responded by laying out his case point by point, starting with the administration’s approach to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
“Think about this war in Iran that every single president had resisted fighting because, of course, it was a dumb idea, because there’s this place called the Strait of Hormuz that everybody could have told you would have been a choke point on energy,” El-Sayed said.
He argued the timing was especially bad given that energy markets are currently propping up the S&P 500 amid a boom in AI data center construction, a trend he said also needs its own scrutiny.
El-Sayed, drawing on his Michigan roots, then turned to the administration’s tariff dispute with Canada.
“Let’s talk about the foolishness of the tariff of war with Canada. Canada. I mean, I’m from Michigan. It’s the only place in the country you can go south to get to Canada. And, you know, Canadians are really nice people. And yet here we are paying $5,600 a year,” he said.
He also criticized cuts to Medicaid tied to tax cuts he said primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans, warning of consequences when those cuts take effect in January.
“Let’s talk about the foolishness of gutting Medicaid to pass tax cuts for the richest people in America. And we’re about to watch that nuclear bomb go off in the form of those cuts taking hold in January,” El-Sayed said.
Despite the sharp language, El-Sayed said he would work with the president if the administration changed course. “If he wants to act serious, we are happy to work alongside him to actually address these issues. He is the president of the United States. If he wants to continue to be a fool, he will hire people like Stephen Miller to run the White House, and he gets to choose where he goes next,” he said.
El-Sayed said voters are focused on practical concerns. “The American public have made their choice. They want affordability. They want accountability. They want to be able to afford their gas and their groceries and to see a doctor. And we intend to get those things done,” he said.
