Now that El-Sayed has captured the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan, those old remarks could become fresh ammunition in one of the country’s most consequential Senate contests.
El-Sayed Had Four Reasons Why ‘Fireworks Suck’
Among the videos reviewed by CNN was a July 2024 episode taking aim at a distinctly American Independence Day tradition.
The segment was titled “Fireworks just aren’t worth it: hear us out,” and El-Sayed offered viewers four reasons “why fireworks suck.”
His objections included air pollution following Detroit fireworks displays, chemicals found in fireworks, the potential effect of explosions on veterans suffering from PTSD, and safety concerns involving children and pets.
El-Sayed’s campaign now paints a significantly different picture of the candidate.
“Abdul is the former captain of his high school football team, loves Michigan football on Saturdays, and celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks like the next Michigander. Cherry-picked comments from old podcasts don’t reflect his beliefs today.”
The campaign additionally pointed to a 2025 social media message in which El-Sayed encouraged people to enjoy Fourth of July fireworks.
But fireworks are hardly the most politically significant subject found in his old digital footprint.
The Second Amendment Was Also in His Sights
Another video, dating to April 2023, featured El-Sayed floating a remarkable idea following a school shooting in Tennessee.
“What if we tweaked the Constitution, amended the amendment, and instead of the right to bear arms, we change it to the right to have health care?” he asked.
He followed that proposal with an argument about the consequences he believed such a constitutional overhaul could produce.
El-Sayed said it would mean “fewer people dying by gun and more people living because they have health care.”
His campaign now says he respects the Second Amendment while supporting restrictions designed to prevent criminals from obtaining firearms.
That clarification will almost certainly receive attention from Republicans as voters compare El-Sayed’s present campaign positions with his earlier commentary.
Border Security Was Dismissed as a Republican Obsession
Immigration could create another vulnerability.
In a September 2022 episode, El-Sayed criticized Republicans for focusing heavily on America’s southern border.
He described it as an issue Republicans “love to flog,” before claiming it “doesn’t even make the top five among issues that people in the United States actually care about that affect their lives.”
El-Sayed further argued that Republican voters had effectively been pushed into caring more about the border than subjects such as inflation, gasoline prices, and public health.
He also attacked Republican governors who transported migrants away from border states, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“It’s crazy to me that the party that says that they’re the party of family values can’t understand when people will make decisions for their families — because that’s exactly what these migrants are doing,” El-Sayed said.
His campaign now says the Democratic nominee favors immigration reform that maintains a secure southern border, while opposing elements of the Trump administration’s ICE enforcement policies.
‘We Do Need to Defund the Police’
Then there is perhaps the most politically explosive issue of all: policing.
El-Sayed has recently disputed characterizations that he supports defunding law enforcement.
His older comments tell a more complicated story.
During interviews in 2020, El-Sayed explicitly said, “we do need to defund the police,” while describing a policy of redirecting government resources from police departments toward schools, social programs, and efforts aimed at poverty.
CNN KFile had already examined deleted social media material concerning his previous support for the defund-the-police movement.
El-Sayed has since argued that those statements have been stripped of their proper context.
Republicans now have an obvious opening: force the Democratic nominee to explain precisely what changed, when it changed, and why.
Football Compared to Dark Chapters of American History
Not everything controversial disappeared.
In a February 2023 podcast episode that reportedly remains accessible, El-Sayed questioned whether football could truly be considered “ethical” or “safe.”
He went further by arguing that the sport’s “ethos” reflected historical narratives associated with slavery and America’s westward expansion.
That is particularly notable given his campaign’s current emphasis on El-Sayed’s own football background and his enthusiasm for Michigan football.
The contrast gives Republicans another opportunity to argue that the candidate currently being presented to Michigan voters looks considerably different from the progressive commentator who built a lengthy online archive before running for Senate.
Progressive Foundation Appears in Deleted Content
CNN also found a sponsorship notice for the Marguerite Casey Foundation in one deleted fireworks video.
During sponsorship messages on his “America Dissected” podcast, El-Sayed praised the organization’s work in what he called “cutting-edge areas of scholarship,” including “feminist prison abolition.”
The foundation has backed progressive research and advocacy, including work related to prison abolition — a movement seeking alternatives to conventional incarceration through programs involving housing, education, health care, and restorative justice.
To be clear, the deleted archive apparently wasn’t exclusively a collection of political manifestos.
CNN reported that El-Sayed also removed less consequential material, including an unusual discussion involving plastics and testicles.
A November 2024 video encouraging viewers to support Kamala Harris was also reportedly taken down.
The Timing Could Not Be More Important
The revelations arrive at a potentially damaging moment.
El-Sayed has just defeated Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Senate primary and is preparing to face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in the general election.
Control of the Senate could ultimately hinge on a handful of competitive states, putting an enormous spotlight on Michigan.
That means Republicans will have every incentive to make El-Sayed’s old statements part of the campaign.
The larger political problem may not simply be what El-Sayed said.
It is the sheer volume of material that vanished.
CNN says approximately 100 previously public videos were made private. The network was nevertheless able to examine archived transcripts created before the material disappeared.
Candidates are allowed to change their minds. Political positions evolve, circumstances change, and statements made years earlier do not necessarily represent what someone believes today.
But voters are equally entitled to examine that evolution.
When a candidate who once said “we do need to defund the police” now disputes the defund label, previously suggested replacing the constitutional right to bear arms with a right to health care, dismissed the political importance of the southern border, and produced an episode explaining “why fireworks suck,” Republicans won’t need to invent a storyline.
They can simply ask Michigan voters to compare Abdul El-Sayed’s old words with the candidate he is presenting today.
And with a Senate seat potentially hanging in the balance, those deleted videos may prove much harder to bury than El-Sayed’s campaign hoped.
