In a Guardian article in 2010, the Oxford Rhodes scholar said UK democracy had the ‘upper hand’ over the US

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In the tense final hours before his dramatic election as senator for Michigan in this week’s midterms , Abdul El-Sayed had a heated encounter with a British TV journalist that rapidly went viral.

As James Matthews of Sky News tried to ask him a question, El-Sayed bit back . “Why would I care to have a conversation with you?” he demanded of Matthews, placing both hands on the reporter’s shoulders in a gesture of emphasis.