Abdul El-Sayed is Challenging Democrats — But Can He Actually Govern?

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“Would you sit down with him and try to work on the president of the United States?”

I think he's a narcissistic asshole who's unfit for office. Do you don't think I'll tell that to one of the food who is face? You don't know me very well. Welcome back to the Terra Palmyri show. All eyes are suddenly on the Michigan Senate race where

candidate Abdul Elsaid is running an unapologetic outside or campaign. He's challenging the democratic establishment like Chuck Schumer. He's refusing to disobey controversial voices like Heston Piker, who he campaigned with. And he's leaning into a populous message that sounds like a combination of Zoroan Mamdoni, meets president Trump.

But here's the question. Can that kind of outsider politics actually do anything once it's inside the Washington machine? We get into all of it and as usual, it gets feisty. Dr Abdul Elsaid, thank you for joining the show so much news this week, especially in Michigan. Your opponent, Mallory MacMorrow, some of our old tweets resurfaced where she appeared to

disparage the state in which she is running, said she never wished she left California,

even being upset about the weather in Michigan. What do you make of this? Do you think she just dropped out? Well, the weather can be upsetting at times, but we actually love it here because this is a state where we are blessed with some of the most beautiful fresh water in the world where we've got more importantly, the best people.

And it's a place that's defined by its combination of earnestness and grittiness. I was born and raised here, proud of having gone to public schools and public university here. And as soon as I could come back, I did. I'm proud to raise my kids here, so I like Michigan. And I hope that anybody who wants to represent Michigan in the U.S.

Senate or anywhere likes Michigan too. So, do you think she should drop out? That is not my decision to make. I'm a lot more focused on building a relationship with fellow Michiganers, explaining to them why I like them and I like Michigan.

“And I think that it's a conversation for her and the voters, right?”

She's going to have to answer why she said what she said and what it means about her relationship with them. I think we take the horse race of a lot of these races far too seriously. I'm a lot more interested in this race in building an indelible relationship with the good people in my state, a relationship that I've had now since I was born, a relationship that I've made a lot deeper in the work that I've done in public service as Detroit's health director and then

Wayne County's Department of Health, Human and Veteran Services Director. And as a candidate, both for Governor and 2018 and for U.S. Senate now. And while I'll tell you this, traveling across my state, you can't help but follow them up with the good people in this state. These are folks who work hard. And they deserve a lot more than what they're getting from their politicians, both in Lansing and D.C. And you do feel some of that contempt sometimes from those

politicians. It feels like they're governing against people, trying to make it harder for them to be able to afford the means of a dignified life. I'm somebody who's a doctor and I fell into public service when I started to ask questions about why is it that people get sick in the first place. And I've tried to bring that love of people to everything I've done in government and to this campaign. And I'll tell you across the 90 cities that I visited 350 public events.

“I think now, all I've seen is just more reason to love admire and serve the people in this”

incredible state. Yeah, I was really surprised to see that and hear that because she is the majority

whip in the state Senate. She had this breakout moment, this viral moment in one of her speeches. And actually, you know, a lot of the establishment players in Michigan and Washington, they really liked her a lot. I mean, she's not that by Chuck Schumer, the way that your other opponent Haley Stevens is. But, you know, she had a lot of promise and I think there are a lot of questions right now about that. But she's not dropping out of the race. It's interesting to see that all

sort of like resurface at this moment. I guess the reason I do want to make a note. Chuck Schumer has basically said he's fine with either of the other two. He came out initially who is back in Congresswoman Stevens. Now he's fine with either MacMoro or Stevens. And it should tell you a little bit about my approach to governing. I'm not somebody who takes orders from the top down. I'm not somebody who goes into a dark room and tells the donors or the political professionals

what they want to hear and then goes and says something else to the public. I've been saying the

I believe that our government is corrupted by the power of big corporations and politicians who do

their bidding rather than the well-being of the public, which should be motivating all of our public service. And so the fact that Chuck Schumer seems to oppose me in this primary should tell you

“everything you need to know about who I actually serve. Yeah, no, it's interesting. And you guys are”

all sort of neck and neck right now in the polls. About 25% just looking at like aggregate polls, Mallory is now falling behind. It's really fascinating to see that that despite not having establishment support, you said you don't take pack money, which must be very difficult to campaign without it. You are still competitive. How do you run without pack money? I know you have a lot of small donors, but that must have been a little scary to strike out on your own. I have to assume

you're not able to practice as frequently and you don't as a doctor. So your income is probably

taking a hit from this, but what's it like? So I don't take corporate money. I never have. I never

will. I'm the only candidate in this race, Democrat or a public in who never has and never will. But when people understand that you're fighting to serve them when you're focused on their affordability when you're focused on whether or not they send their kids to a good school or hear focused on the question of why we send our money abroad to buy bombs and tanks for foreign governments when our own kids can't get a quality school or health care. People realize that they

want to support them. And so we've had donors from all over the country who've given to this campaign, five bucks, ten bucks, helping to support this race. I do this full time. I had to leave my job as Wayne County's Department of Health, Human and Veteran Services Director to be able to do this. But I also know that I'm not willing to stand idly by while politicians tell us what we shouldn't

“fight for and corporations tell us what we can't have. I think the people in the state of Michigan”

understand that we have been ill served by politicians, both in Lansing and D.C. because too often they're bought off by the same corporations who are charging us an arm and a leg for everything from our utilities to our health care and that we can do so much better. And my message hasn't changed. I ran on the same issues back in 2018. I said something at the time. I think folks won't ready to hear, which is that Donald Trump is not himself the disease of our politics. He's just

the worse symptom. The disease is the system that allows big corporations and special interests to buy and sell politicians. And both of my opponents in this primary have been part and part sort of parcel of that system when you're voting to give data center corporations tax breaks to build data centers and people's backyards when you're voting to oppose things like Medicare for all in our state tells you a lot about where your values are and so we're succeeding in this race

because people understand that there is an opportunity to think beyond our politics. I'm not supposed to run for office. I'm not baked in polish. I'm the wrong color. I pray the wrong way. My family comes from the wrong place. I got the wrong name. I know all those reasons. But I also got two

“little girls at home. I think the half Egyptian like me, I think they have to need like their”

mom 100% American and they're growing up in America where they have fewer rights than their immigrant grandparents had. And I'm just not willing to sit idly by. And so it's not surprising to me across the 90 cities. I've visited that people are resonating with this campaign. They want to see something different in their politics and they see this in this race. I'm what I'm hearing is a very populous playbook. I guess you could say left-wing populism

same as Bernie Sanders, same as AOC, but it's not that different than the way that President Donald Trump came out of the gates against the establishment. I don't believe corporations were helping him either. When he was first in the Republican primary, I don't think anyone wanted anything to do with him. Eventually, obviously, he had huge name donors getting behind him like Miriam Adelson after he had won the nomination. But he was an outsider. I mean,

do you think that Democrats are essentially adopting his strategy and that they should be? There is very little similarity between me and Donald Trump. Do grew up as an Epo baby. You know, my folks were educators. I studied to become a doctor. I probably maxed out on the

amount of school that I could do. The man clearly has never studied to think in his life.

And this is a guy who certainly, certainly benefiting from corporations now. I mean, I think he's made what $4 billion off of the presidency alone. I'm a physician who rebuild help the public. I'm a poor agent in politics. And I ran eight years ago, saying the same thing. So I don't think in playbooks. I don't think in left and right. My question is, why do people get sick and how do we do something about it? And as someone who graduated from medical school,

watching as the people who I was taking care of, clearly were suffering at the end of a pathology of politics, more so even than the pathologies in their own bodies. The air they breathe, the water, that they drink, whether or not they could see a doctor in the first place. I got real curious about what we could do about it. And all of this sits at the end of a system in which corporations have bought off politicians. And I've been saying it for eight years. This is not a message

in Michigan, they'll tell you, I've been saying the same thing for eight years since I ran for office the first time because it's true. If you can't afford to buy healthy food for your kids, if you're worried about whether or not your job is going to be there for you tomorrow. If you can't see a doctor when you get sick, yeah, you're going to be sick or you're going to be the poorer for it. And you're going to be the more insecure for all of it. And so I've been trying to

talk about these issues everywhere I can and trying to solve them in the work that I did into Troy and Wayne County putting glasses on kids faces in public schools for free,

taking on big corporate polluters, eliminating upwards of $700 million of medical debt. And so

“it might be that the electorate has now moved in this particular direction, but I think people have”

been searching for an authentic candidate who's willing to talk about the issues honestly for a very long time. And it might just be somebody who's got a name that's all wrong, who prays the wrong way. It comes from a part of the world that we're told that politicians cannot come from who's born and raised in Michigan and loves my state and loves its people. So you know, I'm just trying to build that relationship with Michigan or show them who I am and who I have

been and what I've done because of who I am and I hope from the best for there. Yeah, I mean, we have had moments, political waves that have ushered in people with different names like Zoran Mamdani or Barack Obama who maybe don't fit the typical white Christian nationalist profile in America as we've seen in politics. But I do want to just talk to you about the realities of getting elected and getting into into the Senate. And obviously,

Medicare for All is a great idea and Americans, I'm sure are behind you from both sides of the

island and President Trump basically ran on the same thing as well. Obviously in practice he is not

“done that. He's probably he's gutted our healthcare. But once you get into office, you have to”

deal with moderate not only, you have to deal with moderate Democrats and Republicans. It's not like Democrats are going to have a sweeping majority in the Senate. They can't. It's not even in the map. You may end up actually really disappointing the people that voted for you because you just can't get past the partisan gridlock. For example, like AOC, wonderful communicator raises a ton of money. Really hasn't passed any legislation at all. I mean, how do you actually become a

sexual in in Washington when it is a town that thrives on gridlock? Yeah, well, it takes seriously the idea that politics is about persuasion. And one of the lessons that I think we should all take from our history is that when Donald Trump came down that hideous school in the escalator back in 2015, nobody was talking about immigration. But he used it to try and explain wrongly all of the things that people were facing in their lives. If you're out of a job, because an immigrant took your job,

out of healthcare, because an immigrant took your health care, out of a home, immigrants living in your home. It's all bullshit, none of it's true. But it was an effective message and he used it in effect to to weaponize the idea of immigration against the constitution itself and the form of ice. What would happen if we actually were willing to take seriously the idea that we can persuade people to see things our way? Back on conversation is not just with 99 other senators,

it's with the 350 million people who elected all of us. And I'm looking forward to having that

conversation about what we need and deserve. And if I've learned anything campaigning up and down my state, it's that unlikely people who you would think would have no time for somebody who looks like me with a name like mine are coming out to our events at a guy come up to me up north. He said, you know, I don't like you. I was like, okay, well, I like you because I know. And I'm going to

“vote for you. I was like, what? He's like, yep, because I think you really want me to have health care.”

I was like, I really want you to have health care. It's like, I either thought you were dumb or you really want to be have health care. I came here, you're clearly not dumb. And I think you really want me to have health care. I know what a doctor can make. So why are you spending all this time except for you really, really want me to have something? I was like, I understand, but then I asked him, so why don't you like me? He's like, well, because you're Muslim. I was like, okay, well,

it turns out, I don't need you to like me. I need you to like you enough to believe that you actually deserve nice things. And I'm willing to have that conversation up and down our country. So yeah, I understand that there are moderates and there are Republicans who may not believe in Medicare for all now. But what we have to do is have the courage of our convictions to go and have conversations and unlikely places rather than giving up on people because we have the truth on our sides.

At the end of the day, if you're out of a job, it's not because an immigrant took your job, it's because a corporation figured out how to offshore and automate your job. If you're out of a home, it's not because an immigrant is living in your home. It's because we haven't built enough housing in large part because corporations are more interested in building housing for really, really rich people and they're speculating on housing that exists. If you're out of healthcare, it's definitely

not because an immigrant took your healthcare. It's definitely because of corporate insurance company or a pharmaceutical company bought off our system, they're consolidating hospitals, and they're squeezing everyone, patients and providers out. We have better answers. The problem with it is that Democrats are too often bought off by the corporations who are part of the problem

about what the real problem is and what we do about it and I'm having that conversation. Now in

“90 cities across the state and I'm planning to have that conversation up and down our country until”

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So what I'm hearing is politics first, apply pressure for policy, but I do want to, um, you know, what I'm hearing from you is that a lot of these voters are willing to throw away democratic purity tests to vote for you or to vote for an outsider who they feel like will actually create momentum and cause change. And yeah, they're perhaps willing to look past what they perceive as a identity difference. And you know, the democratic party has really

thrived on identity politics in a lot of ways. "But I can make a comment here. No, I was raised by my dad, who's an Egyptian immigrant, and my stepmom Jackie, who's an daughter of the American Revolution. I understood pretty early in my life that I didn't belong

to any tribe. I was always an outsider everywhere I went. And one of the things that that teaches you

is that the things that bind us are usually a lot bigger than the things that divide us. And when you're grandma, the looks in you, and you're looks in the eye, and make sure your favorite meal and tells you it's going to be okay, it is done with the same love. And I'm

“trying to lock in on the things we all need and deserve. I think it's really important for us”

to recognize that in the end, all of us are people who want the same things. We have the same anxieties when we look our kids in the eye. We want the same things for them. And if we're serious about those things, the rest of it is just a tales. People want someone who's going to really go and fight to make their life easier. I got no business running for office. Everybody knows that. So the only reason I'm doing is because at the end of the day I know what my life should have been.

It's an accident of history. I was supposed to grow up in Egypt driving cabs like the rest of my cousins. That does not my life. And it's not my life because of this incredible country, this incredible country that needs to be this incredible country for everyone. And my goal, ultimately, for all the chips in the middle and say, what does it look like for us to actually fight for each other again? What does it look like for us to get back to the basics of what government

is supposed to be, which is supposed to buy you out of impossible decisions in your life and give you the basic firmament to be able to build your dreams. That is what government is supposed to do. Not that hard. I've studied complicating things. This is not one of them. And I just think that we get so caught up in the ridiculous horse race of it all, the left and the right. And who's going to say what about whom, how much money is going to get spent at the end of the

day if you just cut through all of that. And you recognize that this is about people talking to each other about what they need and deserve. It gets a lot easier. Got it. So you come from obviously a medical background. You've led health services in Wayne County. If you had a chance to grill Robert Afghani and a congressional hearing, what would be the first thing you ask him? I mean, really the first thing I'd ask him was like, why would you take your grandkids swimming

in a creek that's chock full of bacteria? Like, what the fuck me? Like, why would you do that? But then beyond that is to say, how much money have you made on your grift? You tell people that vaccines are bad for them. But you then sell them the alternative? How much money have you made? And was it worth it? Now that we have a measles outbreak, was it worth it? Now that we're in a situation in which our entire public health infrastructure is crumbling,

was it worth it? And in the end he'll probably justify it as he's a crusader for x y and z. But like,

“I guess that's what a brainworm does to you. But I really want to understand was it worth it.”

Because there are millions of people. We talk about all the deadly things. This terrible administration is doing. You can look at the war in Iran and the people who have died and the

surface members who've given their lives for a war we never should have fought. That's like the

acute part of the illness of Trumpism. The chronic part is what RFK juniors doing to undercut our entire public health infrastructure. And I just want to understand from his perspective, was it worth it for you to make a couple hundred thousand bucks? Yeah. Oh, you're right. There's all a lot. My homo movement is extraordinarily profitable.

bogeyman for the right and now the left. I mean, for some of his controversial statements like

America deserve 9/11, his comments about Israel. And you know, you've argued that it's critical

for Democrats to embrace voices like his even while the party disagrees. Are you worried that a

“lining with a thicker like him could cost you votes? To our, do you agree with everything I have to say?”

No. Do you think I agree with everything you think? No. Probably not. So, and we're still having a nice, amicable conversation. Why? Because you talked to a lot of people I'd like to talk to. So, it's the same story whether it's Hassan Piker or going on Foxon friends. I'm not going to be held accountable for anything you said. But somehow, because Hassan and I have similar names that people want to hold me accountable for what he said even though Vice President Harris invited

him to stream from the DNC back in 2024. I don't know. I just don't take this whole thing seriously. At the end of the day, what's happening is that I am a direct threat to the money-making machine by which big corporations buy and sell politicians to do their bidding. And they see me as a threat. So, they're going to try and do everything they can. And they hate it when I'm off talking to people. And I'll just tell you, since we've campaigned with Hassan, we've watched our numbers jump in the

polls. Why? Because people understand that they're sick and tired of being told who they can and can't listen to. And it's just gotten more attention on me, right? Fox News and CNN covering our campaign. And then people are paying attention and be like, what's that guy about? Well, it turns out he's about getting money out of politics, putting money in your pocket and passing Medicare for all. And they'll get that be like, wow, like that, actually. Yeah. But it does come down to the

rift in the Democratic Party over Israel. So here's my question. You know, everybody wants to make it about Israel. My question is, what is the proper use of our tax dollars? I'm from Michigan. And here at Michigan, we got schools that can't afford to heat themselves in the middle of the winter. We've got roads that are crumbling, our literacy rates are tumbling, and people can't get healthcare. And you want to tell me that the best use of my tax dollars is to send them to buy a

“bomber tank for a country that's committing apartheid and genocide. Like, how does that make sense to me?”

How does it make sense to anybody in Michigan? The real question is about what should we use our money for? Now, it's a pretty crazy thing that a whole lot of people in Washington DC from a whole lot of states that got a lot of similarities to ours, think that the best use of our tax dollars is to give bombs and tanks to a country that has universal healthcare and universal college. That doesn't make any sense to me. It doesn't make any sense to most people who are paying

attention to the question becomes why. Well, because there's a hundred million dollars super PAC

that exists to literally blanket the airwaves with attack ads against anybody who says what I just said. They've called me the single most dangerous candidate for the US Israel relationship. That's because I'm the single best candidate for the Abdul Michigan relationship, for the DC Michigan relationship. Because I want to keep my money here. I want to buy healthcare here. I want to buy schools here. I want to make sure that people can afford basic things here rather than sending my money over there.

And look, I'll just tell you this. The second biggest recipient of four military aid is Egypt, or my family came from. And let's just start there. I don't think they should get bombs and tanks

“either. So if you want to call me anything, call me anti-egyptian. But it's already”

that this is not a serious conversation for serious people. I want to go back to the whole idea where you're like, you said, well, Tara, you're on your show. We don't agree. But it's different when you appear on Fox and friends, or you'll appear on a podcast. When someone's out there campaigning for you, essentially endorsing you, it's not the same type of relationship. It's a stamp of approval. The same thing is if our RFK Jr was campaigning for you.

Well, except for we don't agree on basic things. Here's the thing about it. People want to take

a guy who streams for eight hours every single day. Take what he says on a context. And then hold you accountable for the things he says on a context. The truth is, I agree that we should be keeping our money here at home. I agree that people should have guaranteed health care. I agree that our country shouldn't backstop a country that does genocide. Those are things we agree on. And the fact that he supports me because we agree on those things, well, he's communicating to the

3 million people plus who follow him about what those values are. That doesn't mean I agree with everything he's ever set. And it's pretty ridiculous to try and take things that he set out of context and tie them around me as if I agree with those things. And people know better. I mean, this is the thing about it. It's like funny. You've got like serious people here. I mean, some of the stuff he said is really clear. And like we hear this too from politicians all the time.

Like, oh, you're taking Trump out of context. You're taking him literally. Like, this is something that I've heard. He's literally started a war. He's literally profited off of our government. He has literally funded ice to the tune of $185 billion and been

context. It's like this stuff he actually did when he was in office. So yeah, like I think we should take him literally and figuratively. And he's also a politician and the president of the United States. Hassan is a twitch streamer. Yeah, with a lot of influence. And if we've seen everything in the past, my guy talks at a screen for eight hours a day. And you want to tell me that he's come over to the president of the United States or the guy is the president of the United States of America.

He's got the nuclear codes, not the same. I know, but in an attention economy, that is power.

Are you actually defending the idea that Hassan is as powerful as the president of the United States?

Are you really defending that? I think President Trump is actually very concerned about the conversations over podcasts and media. Yeah, media is very powerful. It is. It is a very

“powerful thing. Which is exactly why you should go and talk to as many people as you possibly can”

about the things that you believe in, which is exactly what I do when I go on Fox and Friends, come on your show or campaign with Hassan Piker. Yeah, I just think, I mean, even from what you've said to me about when you end up in Washington, if you win, getting past partisan dialogue, you've basically said I'm going to speak directly to the people, which means that you're going to try to use the power of the media to affect you exchange. Absolutely. Which is exactly what I'm

doing, right? The reason I come on your show is because there are people who pay attention on what you have to say. And I want to talk to them. I like to talk to you to you. You're very nice, but I want to talk to them. Same with Hassan. I want to talk to the people he's talking to every single day. If, if Bill Mar, who said awful things about Muslims invited me, guess what I would do. I would go on a show and I would talk to them through him and if Fox and Friends wants me,

I'll do the same thing. This is about whether or not we think that it is appropriate for some media to gatekeep other media because they're a threat to their financial system. Because that's really what's happening right now. Right. So at the end of the day, I've been consistent. I am going to go and talk to anyone with whom I can have a conversation about inviting you back into a politics that's about getting money on a politics, putting money on your pocket and passing

Medicare for all. And if they support me and want to come and support me and tell their listeners, why they support me because I want to get money on a politics, put money on your pocket and pass Medicare for all, absolutely phenomenal come through to Michigan. We'll create space for that. But I'm not going to be held accountable for everything you ever said because that would be

ultimately ridiculous. Now, when the president of the United States said stuff,

he's the actual president of the United States. He has real power beyond his influence of what people think about him because he commands the entire United States military, which he has used to drop bombs on countries to kidnap a foreign leader to fund a lot of things that are inconsistent with our best interest. That is a different thing. And so I just want to be clear that the media has a tool and I'm trying to engage with the media in a good faith approach to talking about

what it looks like to build a politics that actually does those things. When I'm a U.S. senator, hold me accountable for the things that I vote for and the procedures that I engage with because I will be an elected official. But for right now, right? Even then, I want to have conversations even when I'm elected official about what we need to do. Here's the crazy thing that to me know. People, when you shut the door on some creator or another, what you are doing is saying that the

people who pay attention to that person, they do not deserve a pathway back into our politics. And if we're serious about democracy, democracy ought to be the pathway by which people come back to a political system that is about helping us to resolve our conflicts peacefully. We want people to feel like they have a role in a stake in our political system rather than to shut them because they pay attention to one creator or another. So I feel like it's a dangerous thing to say,

oh, you can't talk to them or these others because, well, these people ought to have the door

“closed on them. I'm not closing the door on anybody. I never will. So I think it's important”

for us to go have these conversations with us. Many people as we possibly can, even if they set them things we disagree with. Is there anyone off the table for you? Let's see what the bounds of the conversation are? There are a lot of people who've said things that I'm like, look, you know, you would not have a debate. And even with Hassan, he and I were going to agree with everything and we've had those conversations. I just think that it's important for us to realize

that we need a political system in this moment, that understands that the bounds of our debate has changed substantially. We're not in a world where there are three channels anymore in which everybody kind of says the same thing. And so how do you engage in a world as a politician where people are listening to all kinds of different creators? I think we want politicians who have the courage to go on different platforms and have those conversations with all kinds of

people about what they need and deserve. And here's the thing about me that you're always going

to get. I say this to everybody, whether I'm on Hassan, whether I'm on Fox and Friends,

“whether I'm talking to you. I believe that our politics ought to be about getting money out of politics,”

putting money in your pocket and passing Medicare for All, I will take that message anywhere everywhere. Okay. And even to the White House, I mean, Zoroan Mamdoni, who you've been compared to, you would sit down with Trump, just like Gretchen Whitmer, who had her famous binder over her face.

I think he's a narcissistic asshole who's unfit for office. I also understand that he's the president

of the United States. You don't think I'll tell that to him as who's face. You don't know me very well. But he's a president of the United States. You don't think it's time what you want to get done, because obviously Zoroan Mamdoni worked his charms on Trump, he's in love with the guy. We don't, we don't know what he said behind closed doors. I'll just tell you this. I'm willing to work with anyone to advance the goals of getting money out of politics, putting

money in your pocket and passing Medicare for All. You know, I don't agree with Donald Trump on much. There's very, very little that we agree on. But one of the things that I understand about the man is that he respects people who don't back down to him. I don't back down to anybody. So

“you know, you're going to have to deal with me as the next senator for Michigan. I believe deeply”

what I have learned about the man watching him work for the past 11 years in American politics.

But if there's something that we can get done together to get money out of politics, I'm happy to work together to get that done. I'll fight you on all the other stuff, figuratively of course. But at the end of the day, we've got to be serious about the fact that he is the president, and we're going to have to get stuff done. But I'm not going to count out to him. I'm not going to just whisper sweet enough things into his ear. I'm going to tell him what I think because I tell everybody

what I think. But what if that doesn't get anything done? You know, then at this point we'll beat him in an election in 2028. We'll elect somebody who's willing to get those things done. And we'll look forward to getting the important things done for the American public. But in the meantime, people will suffer. So you asked me if I'd be willing to sit down with him. Yeah, I'd be willing to sit down with him on my terms. But that might not, that's very long. He may kick you out immediately.

He might kick me out immediately. Fine. Then I'll just walk outside. Tell everybody why he kicked me out. And we'll look forward to beating whoever his hand-picked acolyte, probably J.D. Vance from Ohio, which is, I had to say at the worst to sit in the union. We'll beat him in an election in 2028. Okay. Where does that come from? I'm from Michigan. We hate Ohio.

Oh, okay. Yeah. I wouldn't understand that. From that region. Well, I just tell you, it's just like a lesser state. I mean, like it exists to hold up Michigan. That's the only reason Ohio exists. And I'll tell you that to everybody from Ohio. Like, you know, I love the good people in Ohio, but you're welcome to come to Michigan. We have better lakes. We have better weather. We have better food. You're welcome to come. But for the rest of you,

all we're stuck in Ohio and the Ohio State University, I said what I said. Well, one day, if you ever run for president, that clip will be played. I'm sure. It's okay. I'm probably going to lose Ohio anyway. I'm just not going to go campaign there. One 49 states lost Ohio. And you know what? How does it lead? I'd wear that as a bad you're pride. But also, also, no interest in running for president. I want to be senator for Michigan.

I want to fight the good fight as a U.S. senator. I want to get some important things done. I've heard that one before though. You know, no interest, not interested at all. Look, you cast the hypothetical about losing the state of Ohio and the only world in which I'm even interested in earning votes in Ohio. Is that situation? So I'll tell you,

maybe it's just that I don't want votes from Ohio. So I'll never run for that office.

All right. All right. Let's wrap this up with a rapid fire question. So we'll keep it snappy. Which Democrat are you closest to politically? I mean, Bernie is the OGs. The go. I'm deeply grateful for his support. But I'll tell you, there are so many people up and now my state. Folks whose names you probably don't know from whom I've learned a lot. Folks who are

“doing the good work up and down the state. I think about the county executive in Wayne County,”

somebody who's been a public servant for nearly two years. snappy. All right. County state. Okay. Fine. Sorry. I have to keep this on. Okay. Which Republican do you respect the most? No, Ryan. I was feeling like a governor. Governor, the governor of Utah. I felt that his his leadership following the assassination of Charlie Kirk was really admirable. Okay. Biggest mistake Democrats made in 2024 in one sentence, one sentence, ignoring the hypocrisy

on values when it comes to human rights in Gaza and being beholden to corporate money generally to run campaigns. If you lose, what will it be because of? I didn't build the kind of relationship I needed to with folks in the state of Michigan. If you win, what changes will you make on day one? I will redouble the fight to get money out of politics to pass the pro act to tax billionaires their wealth and to pass Medicare for all. All right. Thank you so much for your time.

We will keep an eye on this campaign. I don't think in this in this political era, it is impossible

“with someone with your name and profile. I think we've seen a lot of happening in this political”

side. So right now you're tied and we, you know, we shall see August 4th primary. Well, I'm looking forward to it. And look, whenever you invite me, I'm coming back because you know

look, I hope that folks will, if I've said anything that's inspired you, go to abdualfirstended.com,

“get involved, drop us off five bucks, ten bucks. I don't take corporate money. I'm the only one”

who doesn't in my race and sign up to volunteer. We need you out here.

Okay. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks, Tara. That was another episode of this

Harrow Palmary Show. Thanks so much for tuning in. You can of course support this kind of

“independent journalism by going to Tara Palmary.com. It's where you can get my all of my exclusive”

reporting straight to your inbox by becoming a paid subscriber. By doing that, you also support

me and my mission to bring you more free and transparent journalism. I want to thank my producer, Diane Schiffmacher, Abbey Baker, who booked this interview, produced, and who handles my social

“media. I want to thank Adam Stewart who does these amazing graphics and Dan Rosen, my manager.”

I will be back soon and thank you to all of you for sticking in there with me while I get through this naively cold. You know, it must not sound so great on your end, but I appreciate you guys. And I will see you again a few days. Hi. I'm Tampson Fidel, journalist and author of How to Metapause and host of The Tampson Show, a weekly podcast with your roadmap to midlife and beyond. We covered all from dating to divorce, aging to ADHD, sleep to sex, brain health, the body fat,

and even how parametopause can affect your relationships and trust me it can. Each week I sit down with doctors, experts, and leaders along Jevity for unfiltered conversations, packed with advice on everything, from hormones to happiness. And of course, how to say saying during what can be, well, let's face it a pretty chaotic chapter of life. Think of us as your midlife survival guide. New episodes released every Wednesday. Listen now on Apple, Spotify,

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