El-Sayed's 'Bad Guys Lost' Line Resonates After Midterm
Lawrence O'Donnell called Abdul El-Sayed's post-election message the clearest summary of the Democratic victory in Michigan.
By Nadia Rahman ·
Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has a simple verdict for the recent election night.
He told parents who struggled to explain the campaign to their children that the bad guys lost.
El-Sayed is set to become the first Muslim U.S. senator. He addressed the families directly in a message shared during the results.
He said, 'To all the parents who struggled to explain why the president openly mocked someone for their name or how they pray, let them know tomorrow that the bad guys lost.'
El-Sayed referenced Donald Trump's habit of calling him by his middle name, Mohamed, during the race.
MS NOW host Lawrence O'Donnell reacted to the clip on Wednesday. He compared El-Sayed's three-word conclusion to the ending of a classic movie.
O'Donnell noted that Americans often feel unsure about the length of political narratives. He pointed to the 1972 election as an example.
Richard Nixon won that year by a large margin. His presidency ended two years later because of the Watergate scandal. Dozens of his allies went to prison.
O'Donnell said, 'And then we knew once again that the bad guys lost in the end.'
He added that this outcome was not just for films. It was supposed to be the standard American experience.
The host referenced the recent political shifts involving Trump. He cited the 2016 win, the 2020 loss, and the 2024 comeback as a unique sequence.
O'Donnell spoke about a 15-year-old boy watching the results. For that listener, the idea that the bad guys lose is rare in real life. It is more common in movies, especially for boys in communities Trump attacks daily. O'Donnell said, 'And so for those of us who became unmoored from that safe American belief, that the bad guys lose in the end, it could be hard to believe that it was really happening last night.' He concluded, 'And then we could feel it, the bad guys lost, and then we could know where we really are in this drama.'
