Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast
Michigan Senate candidate also discussed healthcare costs and political consequences on Hasan Minhaj's show.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast
Photograph: Daily Kos (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed called Donald Trump an 'idiot' on Hasan Minhaj's podcast.
- El-Sayed stated that Trump's only genius is in attracting attention, a skill he attributed to his father's lack of attention.
- The candidate also discussed healthcare, stating the median deductible for a family of four is about $4,500, making them functionally uninsured.
- El-Sayed argued that political outcomes have life-or-death consequences, unlike sports results.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
77/100
Hype
30/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed appeared on Hasan Minhaj's podcast and described Donald Trump as an 'idiot'. El-Sayed said Trump's sole talent was his ability to gain attention, suggesting this stemmed from insufficient attention from his father. El-Sayed also criticised other political figures, including JD Vance, whom he described as lacking soul and charisma but being adept at serving powerful individuals.
During the podcast, El-Sayed addressed the consequences of political decisions, contrasting them with the outcomes of sporting events. He argued that while a sports team's victory does not result in death, political wins or losses can lead to wars, affect healthcare access, and influence food affordability. El-Sayed also highlighted the issue of healthcare costs, stating that the median deductible for a family of four to access insurance is approximately $4,500. He questioned whether this constituted true insurance, noting that individuals without this amount are effectively uninsured.
Disagreement on El-Sayed's specific phrasing
Daily Kos reported El-Sayed stating, 'Donald Trump is an idiot.' The same report quotes him saying, 'Fucking idiot.' La Dépêche du Midi reported El-Sayed saying, 'Donald Trump Is an Idiot Whose only Genius Is to Attract Attention because His Father Never Gave Him Any.' IndexHR reported El-Sayed called Trump an idiot and advocated for resistance against 'political thugs'.
What the coverage left out
None of the reports printed below mention El-Sayed's comparison of political consequences to sports outcomes. The specific figure of $4,500 for the median family deductible was only mentioned in the Daily Kos full report. No right-rated outlet ran this story.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 29 Oct 2026, 10:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led with El-Sayed's strong criticism of Donald Trump. Daily Kos featured the headline ‘Trump is an idiot’: El-Sayed cuts to the chase and quoted El-Sayed calling Trump an 'idiot' and a 'fucking idiot'. La Dépêche du Midi's headline stated, "Donald Trump Is an Idiot Whose only Genius Is to Attract Attention because His Father Never Gave Him Any," Abdul El-Sayed, the New Black Beast of the Republicans, Strangles the American President. IndexHR's headline read, Democrat Insults Trump and Administration: America Is Run by the Stupidest People. These reports also mentioned El-Sayed's comments on healthcare deductibles.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on El-Sayed's description of Trump as an 'idiot' while also noting his perceived 'one genius' quality. Alabama Live and Cleveland both used the headline Trump savaged as ‘idiot’ by Democrat who concedes president has this ‘one genius’. These reports highlighted El-Sayed's statement that Trump is an 'idiot' with 'one genius' quality.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast biased?
- Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Abdul El-Sayed calls Trump an 'idiot' on podcast?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Abdul El-Sayed say about Donald Trump?
- Abdul El-Sayed called Donald Trump an 'idiot' during an appearance on Hasan Minhaj's podcast. He also stated that Trump's only genius was in attracting attention, which he attributed to a lack of attention from his father.
- What did El-Sayed say about healthcare costs?
- El-Sayed stated that the median deductible for a family of four to access health insurance is around $4,500. He argued that without this amount readily available, individuals are effectively uninsured, questioning the purpose of current insurance plans.
- Which political figures did El-Sayed criticise?
- Besides Donald Trump, El-Sayed also mentioned JD Vance, describing him as intelligent but lacking soul and charisma, and suggesting Vance's actions are driven by a desire to serve the strongest person in the room.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- "Donald Trump Is an Idiot Whose only Genius Is to Attract Attention because His Father Never Gave Him Any," Abdul El-Sayed, the New Black Beast of the Republicans, Strangles the American President (opens La Dépêche du Midi in a new tab)
La Dépêche du Midi — is La Dépêche du Midi biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Trump savaged as ‘idiot’ by Democrat who concedes president has this ‘one genius’ (opens lehighvalleylive in a new tab)
lehighvalleylive — is lehighvalleylive biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Democrat Insults Trump and Administration: America Is Run by the Stupidest People (opens IndexHR in a new tab)
IndexHR — is IndexHR biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- ‘Trump is an idiot’: El-Sayed cuts to the chase (opens Daily Kos in a new tab)
Daily Kos — is Daily Kos biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Centre
2Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
