El Sayed says he will work with Trump: ‘He can read the tea leaves’

Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul el Sayed expressed a willingness to work with President Donald Trump on shared policy priorities, striking a more conciliatory tone after a campaign in which he repeatedly clashed with the president and his allies.“I’m willing to work with anyone,” el Sayed said during an appearance on MS Now’s Morning Joe, arguing that Trump’s political influence should not prevent lawmakers from pursuing common ground.“I think people have always seen Donald Trump as this big monster that’s unbeatable. It turns out you just stand up to him, and he can read the tea leaves,” he said. El Sayed, who defeated Trump-backed Republican nominee Mike Rogers in Tuesday’s election, said he would welcome cooperation with the White House on issues including healthcare, campaign finance, and foreign policy.“If he’s interested in getting money out of politics, putting money in pockets, and passing Medicare for all, that’s what I ran to do. And I’m looking forward to working with anyone who is willing to do that,” he said.Acknowledging Trump’s influence as president, el Sayed added that he was prepared to work across party lines if doing so advanced his agenda.“He is the president of the United States. He does have substantial power. I’m going to be one United States senator, and if he’s interested in working on issues that I want to work on, getting more people healthcare, ending the Medicare cuts, ending the stupid war, stopping these stupid tariffs with Canada, then let’s talk about doing that and go and deliver for the public,” he said.“Clearly, they went a different way for a reason. Let’s see if we can’t learn from that and make sure we’re delivering for folks.”El Sayed also expressed agreement with Trump over the possibility of cutting off U.S. aid to Israel, which Trump floated in a Tuesday interview.When asked about Trump’s comments, el Sayed responded, “I agree with him on that. I’d love to work with him on doing that.”His comments mark a notable shift in tone after a bruising election campaign in which el Sayed made his opposition to Trump and his administration a central part of his political message.During his victory speech in Detroit, el Sayed took direct aim at Vice President JD Vance, with whom he had repeatedly sparred during the campaign, as well as Trump.“JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January,” el Sayed told supporters, using the Arabic word for “my love.”“Wolverines 1, Buckeyes 0,” he added, referencing the rivalry between the University of Michigan and Ohio State University, Vance’s alma mater.He then turned his attention to Trump.“Donald, I know you struggle with my name, so when JD swears me in, you can call me ‘senator.’ May we never have to see the likes of you in Michigan again,” he said.El Sayed defeated Rogers by a 7-point margin, according to the Associated Press.The campaign was also marked by controversy over el Sayed’s position on Israel. Just days before Election Day, a super PAC run by Cenk Uygur, the uncle of controversial commentator Hasan Piker, aired an ad supporting el Sayed that blamed Israel’s war in Gaza for economic problems in Michigan.Trump to end all military funding to Israel by end of the year: ‘They don’t need it’Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a centrist Democrat who lost to el Sayed in the primary, joined other critics in condemning the PAC advertisement as antisemitic and called on el Sayed to disavow it.El Sayed accused Stevens of attempting to “relitigate a primary that ended three months ago.” Stevens subsequently withdrew her endorsement of el Sayed and backed Rogers in the final days of the race.