Bill Clinton saw Abdul El-Sayed’s potential 20 years ago – now a rare video is resurfacing

Abdul El-Sayed made history as the first Muslim senator after winning the Michigan Senate race on Tuesday. However, while former President Barack Obama endorsed him, another former president saw his potential long before that. Now, an almost two-decade-old video of Bill Clinton praising Abdul at the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony is making headlines.

On Tuesday, November 3, 42-year-old El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race, becoming the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Senate. He received 52.5% of the votes counted, compared with Rogers’ 45.4%.

“You took a chance on the unlikeliest of candidates, so thank you, this is all yours.. You welcomed me into your homes, your churches, your synagogues,” El-Sayed said in his victory speech on Tuesday, per C-SPAN.

El-Sayed continued, “[The] opposition decided to try to divide us. At first, they pointed to my name and my faith as if to say, you know, he’s a little different … They want an America that is too small for some of us. We know that America is big enough for all of us.”

The Senate race in Michigan was perhaps one of the states that received most attention before the election. President Barack Obama endorsed El-Sayed beforehand, and the former president even appeared at one of his rallies.

However, while Obama might have liked the Michigan native, former U.S. President Bill Clinton had already noticed something special about him long before Abdul El-Sayed made history in Michigan.

Nearly two decades ago, in 2007, Abdul El-Sayed held a speech as class valedictorian during the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony. A resurfaced video is now bringing that moment back into the spotlight following El-Sayed’s historic election victory.

Bill Clinton praised Abdul El-Sayed in 2007 as rare video resurfaces

While students might have enjoyed the speech, Bill Clinton certainly did, too. In a resurfaced video following El-Sayed’s Senate victory, Clinton appeared to recognize the youngster’s potential long before his political career began.

President Bill Clinton also gave a speech, and he took a moment to praise the young speaker publicly.

“I don’t want to embarrass your senior speaker,” Clinton said. “But I wish every person in the world who believes that we are fated to have a clash of civilizations, and cannot reach across the religious divides, could have heard you speak today.”

The former president added, “I just wish every person in the world could have heard you speak today.”

At the time, El-Sayed was still a student with plans to pursue a career in medicine. But Clinton apparently saw another possible future for him. Years later, in mid-October this year, Abdul El-Sayed recalled the encounter during an appearance on Jon Stewart’s show.