As far-left Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed began to be declared the winner of the state’s Senate primary by media outlets, MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle began her praise of the candidate on her Money, Power, Politics morning-time show. She called El-Sayed “practical” because of his views for “Medicare for All and affordability,” while she also compared his win to Ukrainian military success versus Russia.
Ruhle led her show with a promotion of an opinion piece she wrote on MS NOW’s website, “What Democrats’ primary battles are really about,” and claimed the rise of the DSA was almost solely based on the economy while she bashed the “investor class.”
She proclaimed: “The rise of the Progressive outsiders is, in fact, about the economy. Voters are not drawn to radical ideas like defund the police. They are mad at the status quo because they cannot fund their daily lives.”
In reaction to the Michigan primary, MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle made fun of the “excited” Republicans who are “going to spend a zillion dollars on endless ads calling El-Sayed a Communist and Socialist" and instead called the far-left Senate nominee "practical."
She called… pic.twitter.com/0qxA5GGN8v— Nick (@nspin310) August 5, 2026
After her mini political scientist voter profile lesson, Ruhle began to mock future Republican advertisements that would target El-Sayed on socialism and communism: “So, Republicans are excited, and they're going to spend a zillion dollars on endless ads calling El-Sayed a communist and socialist, and it's going to break capitalism.”
But she continued her comments with praise of El-Sayed with an empathic stance towards socialist policy: “But here's the thing: What he is is practical. What he is is focused on Medicare for All and affordability (...).”
Later, after the Associated Press official called the race for El-Sayed (after NBC News did so overnight), Ruhle and her panelists could actually praise the far-left victory.
Bloomberg’s David Gura labeled the race an example of a Democratic “litmus test,” but expanded and said it was about money in politics. He, of course, focused on money from AIPAC, a point EL-Sayed constantly made in his campaign. Gura simply said it was a “very vivid illustration of the fact that money is so critical to these midterms.”
In more reaction to Abdul El-Sayed’s primary victory, MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle compared the progressive candidate's victory versus a candidate with more campaign money to “Ukraine using their cheap drones to defeat the world’s most expensive missiles.” pic.twitter.com/uNYsCZICRl
— Nick (@nspin310) August 5, 2026
Ruhle continued off Gura’s point and said, “$80 million and scrappy guy wins” before she made a wild comparison of El-Sayed's victory to the drone warfare of Ukrainians against Russia’s invasion: “It's almost like Ukraine using their cheap drones to defeat the world's most expensive missiles.”
Axios’s Hans Nichols responded with awkward laughter, saying, “It would be a fool's errand for you and I to engage in too many more metaphors and too many more similes comparing this.”
Even after her Ukraine comparison, Ruhle continued to defend El-Sayed and even denied he was a progressive and stated he was simply a doctor running for office:
We keep saying progressive. Progressive and electability. He is not running on extremely Progressive ideals, right? He's not saying let's open our borders and defund the police. He, a doctor, is saying, let's figure out a way to have Medicare for All.
To close a prolonged segment with reactions to El-Sayed’s victory, Ruhle and her panel finally discussed the issue of Israel and possible anti-Semitism. After Ruhle pushed back against a President Trump social post that said El-Sayed that said he “hates Jews,” Ruhle admitted there might be an anti-Semitism issue, even after she said the rise of DSA-like candidates was based on the economy:
Listen. Donald Trump's wrong in saying that he hates Jews. But to say this isn't an issue when you have the attorney general saying she's not going to show up to a Democratic nominating event because she doesn't feel physically safe, you got a problem.
The transcript is below. Click "expand":
MS NOW’s Money, Power, Politics
August 5, 2026
9:02:13 AM Eastern
(...)
STEPHANIE RUHLE: As I wrote in a new column for MS NOW, primary voters are looking for someone who's going to fight for them, particularly when it comes to the economy. That is what this election and all these elections around the country are about.
While the investor class might be focused on the stock market, which is hitting record highs. Most Americans are more worried about skyrocketing costs of living. The rise of the Progressive outsiders is, in fact, about the economy. Voters are not drawn to radical ideas like defund the police. They are mad at the status quo because they cannot fund their daily lives.
Millions of Americans cannot afford to buy a home. The median first-time home buyer age is now 41 years old. It was 33 5 years ago. They cannot get health care, and they cannot cover their basic living expenses while the rich are getting astronomically richer right before our eyes.
And the blame is not just falling on Donald Trump. The message is: the system is not working for me. This election is about affordability and accountability. Accountability to those who are skirting the rules and winning the game.
(...)
9:10:02 AM Eastern
WILL SOMMER: So, I think, however, the Republicans do appear to be getting the candidate they wanted to face.
RUHLE: Okay. But here's the thing, Jon.
So, Republicans are excited, and they're going to spend a zillion dollars on endless ads calling El-Sayed a communist and socialist, and it's going to break capitalism.
But here's the thing: What he is is practical. What he is is focused on Medicare for All and affordability. At a time when Donald Trump has made life way more expensive because of the tariffs, because of the war with Iran, because of mass deportations.
So, I get it. They have an unlimited amount of money for these attack ads. But what words are they going to use in these ads? Because you cannot lie to people about their lived experience, and the lived experience for people, whether it's Nevada, Kansas, or Michigan, is this a whole hell of a lot more expensive than it was even a few years ago?
(...)
10:02:28 AM Eastern
DAVID GURA: Look, I think a lot of people are going to look at this as a litmus for kind of broader trends within the country. You mentioned how expensive it was, and that's kind of what I'm most focused on here.
The amount of money that was poured into this race. I think 30 million from AIPAC alone, but 70 or 80 million was put up against El-Sayed. And I think it's - not an indictment of our politics, but a very vivid illustration of the fact that money is so critical to these midterms, as we've seen them play out thus far.
I'll be interested to sort of pick apart the data over the course of the day, sort of where he made inroads and didn't. But yeah, that stands out as the starkest thing for me.
RUHLE: Critical or not. Hans. Right. $80 million and the scrappy guy wins, right? It's almost like Iran - Excuse me. It's almost like Ukraine using their cheap drones to defeat the world's most expensive missiles.
HANS NICHOLS: It would be a fool's errand for you and I to engage in too many more metaphors and too many more similes comparing this. But I take your point. Okay, look, I've made a dozen calls this morning, late into the night. The general consensus seems to be that most Republicans are ecstatic. This is exactly the outcome they wanted. They wanted a split decision. They wanted a divided party. And that's what they have on the Democratic side.
And they also have an LCD that shows that he needs to do some real work within his own party to assemble a coalition to win in the general election. Now, on the democratic side, it's not all tears. They're basically having a real hard conversation with themselves, which is to say, how quickly can we come together? How fast can we put bygones be bygones behind us, and let's not do a repeat of 2016, where Bernie ended up losing a very close primary. And a lot of Democrats sat it out, and they ended up allowing Donald Trump to kind of sneak a victory. So, those seem to be the first cuts. But I'm sure the panel and my esteemed colleagues, including Mosheh, will have more to say.
(...)
10:11:33 AM Eastern
RUHLE: But maybe the issue, David, is - you know, we keep saying Progressive. Progressive and electability. He is not running on extremely Progressive ideals, right? He's not saying let's open our borders and defund the police. He, a doctor, is saying, let's figure out a way to have Medicare for All.
(...)
10:23:28 AM Eastern
RUHLE: Let's talk about mending fences. Haley Stevens obviously has immediately thrown her support. You mentioned Mallory. Mallory McMorrow did last night. However, Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel says she is not going to go to the democratic nominating convention this month, citing harassment and concerns around anti-semitism within the party.
MOSHEH OINOUNOU: Yeah, that is a major concern. And that is one of the reasons why you saw in the long list of issues Trump brought up in his post. You know, “hates Jews, hates Israel.” I mean, this is Trump doing his thing, right? He's trying a bunch of things.
RUHLE: Listen. Donald Trump's wrong in saying that he hates Jews. But to say this isn't an issue when you have the attorney general saying she's not going to show up to a Democratic nominating event because she doesn't feel physically safe, you got a problem.
OINOUNOU: It's a legitimate issue. It's a legitimate issue that the Jewish community feels across this country, that the Democratic Party is no longer a safe place for them. And they're seeing that in New York. They're seeing that in Michigan. They're seeing that across the country, and that is something he has to speak to. And he's talked about how he reveres Jews, but in the same breath, he talks about how he doesn't know whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state, which is a core belief to the vast majority of Jews.
And, so, he needs to figure out how to do more there and how to mend those fences, I guess, with Dana Nessel and make that community feel safe. Because increasingly the Jewish community, you know, which is relatively small, right? 6 or 7 million across the country, but not insignificant in Michigan, feels lost between the two parties. And that is something I increasingly hear from people on social media.
REV. AL SHARPTON: But I would suggest if I was advising him, and I'm not, that he should use that as an opportunity to dramatically say, I would say today, if I was him, “please come to the convention. I'll walk you in. I will stand with you. Let me help protect you.”
RUHLE: That’s a Rev. move right there.
SHARPTON: I would not let the sun go down without me making that open offer. And leave it on her. But I will walk in with you. I will stay with you. Nobody's going to bother you. We are one party, and put it back on her. I would not just leave it out there that she's afraid to go. While you have the president saying he hates Jews. He can be disagreeable with Netanyahu and not hate you.
OINOUNOU: Yeah. I mean, Stevens had to cancel an event last week because the El-Sayed supporters were so threatening that she had to cancel. So he clearly has to do something about that, that element of his support.
RUHLE: And clearly, as always, the Rev. just won this segment.
(...)
