El-Sayed Dismisses Transgender School Concerns, Ignites Backlash With 3.7 Million Views

Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is drawing fire for brushing aside anxieties about transgender issues in schools. During a Sunday interview with 60 Minutes, he argued that children can already find any information on their phones. El-Sayed, a physician challenging Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan, was specifically questioned about transgender athletes competing against the opposite sex. The topic has become a national flashpoint, with parents voicing serious concerns regarding safety and shared locker rooms.

El-Sayed insisted this culture war is not a "real issue" for voters. "I think we manufacture these social issues," he stated. He followed up by claiming kids already have access to "all the world's information" through their devices. Rogers immediately seized on the clip, which has amassed 3.7 million views since he posted it on X Sunday night. "@AbdulElSayed says it's ok for MEN to be in girl's locker rooms. Why? 'Well because they are going to find out about it on the internet anyway' Completely unacceptable," Rogers wrote. It is worth noting El-Sayed did not use those exact words in the broadcast.

Criticism spread quickly. A foundation run by former Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson labeled his response "a slick, silver tongued way of saying women's rights don't matter." They added, "This man is truly frightening." El-Sayed told 60 Minutes that the notion you can prevent a child from being exposed to something disagreeable because of school is "so profoundly outdated." He pivoted to argue that debates over transgender athletes distract from affordability and health care. "A lot of the cultural war issues that get fought right now are about trying to distract us from the fact that we can't afford our gas, can't afford our groceries, can't see a doctor, are worried about whether or not our kids are going to have a good life," he said. Instead, people are arguing about who gets to play what sport, which "should be the question of the people who govern sports." "I'm not running to govern sports, right?" he added. His focus is ensuring people can live well, access healthcare, breathe clean air, drink clean water, and attend well-funded schools.

El-Sayed heads into Tuesday's election with a lead in the polls, despite a late-stage betrayal from within his own party. A New York Times/Siena survey released Sunday placed him 11 points ahead of Rogers, 53 percent to 42 percent, though CNN's polling average indicates a tighter five-point margin. Most recent surveys were completed before Representative Haley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the primary, endorsed Rogers on Sunday. She appeared alongside him at a Detroit church. The defection followed a dispute over an outside group's ad linking American affordability struggles to US aid to Israel. Stevens wanted El-Sayed to condemn it. He did so on Saturday. However, a planned Democratic unity appearance fell apart when Stevens said El-Sayed's campaign told her to stay away from his events. "My mind is made up, I'm rock solid. I'm an independent woman, I made my decision," Stevens told Anderson Cooper on Sunday night. CNN reported that most of her congressional staff quit after learning of the switch on social media. "At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens," El-Sayed told reporters.