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Multiple People Stabbed in Covent Garden; Interview with the Sons of Imran Khan on Anniversary of His Arrest; Jordan Fears Israeli Takeover of Most Important Muslim Site in Jerusalem; Abdul El-Sayed Projected to Win Michigan Democratic Senate Primary. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired August 05, 2026 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson in London, where the time is just after 3:10 in the afternoon. You have the breaking news

out of Detroit. We'll watch developments, of course, on that story throughout this hour.

I do, though, want to get you the other international news that we are following this hour, including my interview with the sons of jailed former

Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khan. Stay with us.

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ANDERSON: Well, breaking news out of London and police here report multiple people have been stabbed in Covent Garden. A 47-year-old woman is

now under arrest. Local police say on X that they believe the attack is, quote, "mental health related."

The London ambulance service says four people were taken to a major trauma center, their conditions not yet known. We're going to monitor this, of

course, and we will bring you the latest as we learn it.

Well, on the third anniversary of Imran Khan's arrest, human rights activists are calling -- renewing calls for Pakistani authorities to

restore the former prime minister's access to his family, his lawyers and medical care.

I spoke with Khan's two sons about their father's time behind bars, their concerns about his health and the fight to keep his voice alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SULAIMAN ISA KHAN, IMRAN KHAN'S SON: The last time we spoke to him on the phone was in March and we've had no updates because his family, doctors,

lawyers haven't been allowed to see him for seven months. So yes, we're not sure really.

KASIM KHAN, IMRAN KHAN'S SON: Been more in the dark recently than we've ever been, I would say, through his incarceration.

ANDERSON: He is supposed to be allowed to see his family and lawyers, as I understand it.

K. KHAN: Yes. The court the court mandates, I think, a phone call every two weeks, minimum. We haven't spoken to him since March. The stint at

which we're able to speak to him stretches. So this has been a particularly long one, maybe the longest one.

ANDERSON: And you were hoping to get out to Pakistan, as I understand it, to see him at the beginning of the year.

What happened with that?

K. KHAN: We never got a visa that we were able to get on NICO (ph) cards, which are kind of identity cards, essentially a Pakistani passport, are

expired.

[10:15:00]

So we're not able to go via those. And the visa has never come. There were technical difficulties. So, for some reason, we're not allowed to go over.

ANDERSON: As I understand it, the defense minister had said it would be perfectly fine for you guys to come.

K. KHAN: Yes. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to get accepted for a visa. But the powers that be have meant it that way.

ANDERSON: And you continue to press?

K. KHAN: Well, as much as we can. But we've said on multiple interviews that, you know, we're trying. We'd like to go but nothing's come. Nothing

materialized.

ANDERSON: Earlier this week, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture did release a statement. She said that your father's treatment violates the

Mandela rules.

And this is the first -- let's call it a win, if you like, for you guys from the United Nations, you've been calling on the U.N. and other

international bodies to do more.

How do you feel about that in principle?

S. KHAN: Well, it is a win. It's definitely a win. And we really appreciate, Dr. Alice put out that that tweet on X, three days ago. But

they had actually the U.N. special -- she actually had made a statement before saying that his treatment could amount to torture.

And actually the U.N. special working group on arbitrary detention had already called his detention unlawful maybe two years ago. And we haven't

seen much progress since then.

If anything, it's got worse, his conditions and his treatment. So it's a win and we appreciate it but we'd like to see some results from it.

ANDERSON: He is accused of corruption, amongst other things.

What do you make of the allegations?

K. KHAN: It's one of the most frustrating things to hear. When we, us growing up, all we've ever heard was how poisonous corruption can be. And

to a country, how much it can just, it can destroy a country. And that's what he's seen in Pakistan.

And when he came over to England, he was able to, you know, see the differences and the ways that he could improve Pakistan and eventually went

back to Pakistan and went into politics. He's preached anti-corruption for as long as he -- as long as we've been alive.

And so -- and seeing him act on it as well. And so, if behind closed doors, he's preaching to a 5-year old and a 7-year old about corruption, it's so

frustrating to -- for him to then be accused now.

And for us, it's just plain lies and deceit from a government that's been one of the most openly corrupt governments in years. You can see with the

rigging of the last election.

ANDERSON: And to the rest of the world, what's the message?

K. KHAN: I'd say, if anyone with the power to take action, please, look this way, because I know there's a lot going on. But this is one of the

most frustrating things, not as sons but for a whole country, for 350 million people, who have voted for him, who support him, all want him to,

you know, lead the country.

Instead, they're being shunned and they're -- instead, the person they want in power is behind bars for no good reason.

S. KHAN: Yes. I would just say, push for the Pakistani regime to respect human rights of all the political prisoners and to respect democracy and

the will of Pakistan's people, which clearly, if anyone looked at the previous election, they could see, it was -- it was a sham election. And it

was it was massively rigged.

ANDERSON: Do you think, offered a deal, that your dad would take it?

K. KHAN: I don't think he would. It's hard to say. I haven't spoken to him in a long time. It's -- God knows what state he's in. They're refusing

to show us any kind of health reports. So his health may have deteriorated significantly since then. Maybe the only way for him to kind of be in any

decent physical state.

But I know that mentally he's the toughest person I know. And he wouldn't without -- I don't see him leaving the other political prisoners in there

and taking some kind of deal unless they were able to get some kind of resolution as well.

But I can't, honestly, as a son, I would, I would love to see him again in person or a phone call even.

ANDERSON: Do you think he has any regrets?

I mean, this is clearly a period for reflection.

[10:20:03]

I mean, do you get that sense?

S. KHAN: I don't think he's the person that would regret anything that he's done so far. Yes, I think he's just -- because even when his freedoms

have been and his conditions have got worse with every time he's put out a statement or a tweet through someone who's visited him he's doubled down

the next time.

Which is probably part of the reason he's not being allowed to see anyone. But he didn't sound like he regretted anything any of the times we've

spoken to him, so I wouldn't, I wouldn't say so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, we reached out to the Pakistani government who have responded to a number of the allegations made by Kasim and Sulaiman Khan.

In a statement to CNN, they said that they categorically reject, quote, "the claim that Mr. Imran Khan Niazi has been kept under a seven-month

communications blackout or denied access to his family, lawyers and doctors."

That allegation, they say, is "contradicted by the documented prison record and seeks to manufacture an international controversy where the evidence

shows repeated and substantial access."

Further, the government of Pakistan said in a statement to CNN that Mr. Niazi's last visit with his wife was on August the 4th, 2026. His wife is

also currently imprisoned. The statement went on to address claims that were made around Kasim and Sulaiman's ability to travel and the government

reasserts their ability to travel to Pakistan.

That, in part, the statement that we received from the Pakistani government -- and we will be posting the full statement from the government on social

media.

Well, Benjamin Netanyahu speaking out publicly for the first time since Hamas accepted a U.S.-backed disarmament plan. The Israeli prime minister

has a message for the Trump administration about the border piece's terms regarding the terror group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): President Trump and his team believe they can bring about Hamas disarmament

and the demilitarization of Gaza.

We are examining that. They have sent us a draft. We did not agree to it. It is not our draft. We sent them our comments. In fact, we sent our

comments before the media campaign on this issue began.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Jeremy Diamond, joining us now from Tel Aviv.

What do you make of what we've just heard there?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, you heard the Israeli prime minister there saying that he has not agreed to these terms that were

announced last week with much fanfare by the president of the United States, the board of peace and senior Hamas officials.

The Israeli prime minister is, in fact, publicly, at least, appears to be digging in his heels, saying that Israel will not move forward with a

number of the conditions that Hamas and the board of peace have laid out in order for Hamas' disarmament to begin; namely, no movement from Israel's

current military lines inside of Gaza.

Hamas has said that Israel must pull back to the yellow line, as it was agreed to back in October, not the current yellow line, which is a location

where Israel has taken additional territory over the course of the last several months.

And secondly, he said that he has instructed Israeli soldiers to do, quote, "whatever is necessary" to protect themselves, meaning that Israeli strikes

in Gaza may not end altogether.

But behind the scenes we are told that there have been some changes, at least in Israeli military policy in Gaza, that seemed to be an attempt at

least to try and mollify the Americans who have really pressed the Israelis to adhere to this new agreement that could ultimately see the disarmament

of Hamas.

And that's because an Israeli source has told us that the Israeli military has tightened its policies for carrying out strikes in Gaza, that Israeli

forces in Gaza have been told to operate only to neutralize immediate threats inside the Gaza Strip.

And that any targeted killings -- drone strikes, for example -- would require the approval of the Israeli military's chief of staff. So a very

high level of approval, certainly higher than existed prior to this moment.

And that may be an indication of some acknowledgment on the Israeli side that they're willing to give this deal a chance or at least to try and

appease the Americans, who have really been pressuring the Israeli government to adhere to this new agreement with Hamas.

ANDERSON: While I've got you, an important story developing here. Jordan hosting foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world today in Amman

over what it says is an imminent threat of an Israeli takeover of the Al- Aqsa Mosque.

[10:25:00]

What are you hearing on the ground, Jeremy?

DIAMOND: Yes, well, it's important to understand that Jordanian authorities have kind of official custodianship of the Al-Aqsa Mosque

compound, which is home to Islam's third holiest site, home to the what Jews recognize as the ruins of the Temple Mount, effectively.

And Jordan, for months now, has been warning that there has been a degrading of the status quo at the Temple Mount or the Al-Aqsa Mosque

compound. That status quo maintains that only Muslims are allowed to pray at that Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

But in recent months, we have seen an increasing drive by extremist, religious Jewish Israelis going to that Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, sometimes

with the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, praying at that compound, violating that status quo agreement.

And now Jordan's foreign minister warning in an interview to "The Guardian" that this represents an imminent threat of Israeli takeover of this

compound. And he is warning that it could potentially trigger a much broader religious conflict.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been in the past at the center of conflict in, you know, key parts of the conflict of the Israeli-Palestinian

conflict. Hamas, for example, named its October 7th operation the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, for example, one in which we saw hundreds of Israeli

civilians who were killed.

But the bottom line is that there have been threats to that status quo. The Israeli government, officially the prime minister's office, I should say,

has said that the status quo is still in effect at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

But we have seen other government ministers, like the far right minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatening that status quo. And that's why you see this

kind of call to action today from the Jordanians in an attempt to shed light on this issue.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Jeremy is in Tel Aviv, in Israel today, where the time is just before 5:30 in the afternoon, 4:30, just before 4:30

here in London. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. A lot more news ahead. Stay with us.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. These are your headlines this hour.

Senior U.S. military commanders warning some of their weapons stockpiles have fallen to dangerously low levels. That is according to multiple

sources familiar with the matter, who say the military has used about half of its Patriot missile interceptors in the war with Iran. And another key

system interceptors are down by 80 percent.

Well, a Russian missile attack around Kyiv killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more. Ukraine's air defenses were unable to intercept any of

those missiles. And the president says the attack highlights the crucial need for allies to provide Ukraine with anti-missile defense systems.

[10:30:08]

Part of a SpaceX rocket was expected to crash into the moon earlier this morning. There's been no confirmation that has actually happened yet. The

Falcon 9 rocket launched 18 months ago after the mission. The parts that aren't needed would normally burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Instead, gravity pulled the rocket part into a collision course with the moon.

ANDERSON: Well, CNN can now project that progressive Abdul El-Sayed has clinched Michigan's Democratic state senate primary, defeating

congresswoman Haley Stevens in what was a bitter and contentious race.

El-Sayed will advance to the midterms and take on Republican former congressman Mike Rogers in November.

Now Democrats have viewed this race in Michigan as a marquee or significant battle in their fight for ultimate control of the U.S. Senate after the

midterms. Well, my next guest is a longtime Democratic advisor and leader for the Arab American perspective in Democratic politics.

He's been in Michigan supporting Abdul El-Sayed and said of his win, quote, "This will be a watershed moment not just for progressives or for Arab

Americans but for the entire system."

James Zogby is the founder and president of the Arab American Institute. He joins us now from Washington.

And just your initial response in what has just been the past hour, as CNN is projected to win?

JAMES ZOGBY, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE: Well, it was exhilaration, Becky. And thanks for having me on to talk about it. Number

one, Abdul is just a remarkable young man. I'm so impressed with him. Both his perseverance as also his intellect and his ability to connect with

people about what they really need.

And if you don't mind, I can go a little further and say that this was watershed because so many critical issues were raised and talked about. And

he won. He won on the issue of dark money. I mean, almost $70 million in dark money spent against him.

He was outspent 11:1 in media. And he still won. It shows that money can prop up a candidate but can't always win.

He also debated the issue of Israel in a very significant way. It isn't normally talked about in election contests. Candidates have views on it but

they duck it. They don't raise it out front. He did. And he engaged Haley Stevens in it. And he won.

And I think what's also critical is what you mentioned about the progressive agenda. It was always suggested that it's a losing agenda.

You've got to be like more like Haley Stevens, which is to say, I want affordability but then never propose the programs that make life more

affordable.

And Abdul did. I mean, he talked about health care for all. He talked about some of the very issues that Mamdani raised. And in a state like Michigan,

which is not New York and not an urban center but is a massive state that has such an incredible diversity of population, he won. So this is a big

deal and I'm really proud, proud of him.

And proud of the state.

ANDERSON: So Israel, a defining issue in this race, James, El-Sayed consistently blasting AIPAC for spending about $30 million to back his

opponent, their largest-ever investment in a single race.

And this issue, of course, carries particular weight in Michigan, which is home to the nation's largest Arab American population. Many people there

have been directly affected by the wars in Gaza and in Lebanon. This was El-Sayed earlier, speaking on MS NOW. Now I just want our viewers and you

to hear this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D-MI), PROJECTED U.S. SENATE NOMINEE: We've been talking about an illegal apartheid regime for a very, very long time. And that

supersedes Netanyahu himself. So I just think we need to treat Israel the way we would treat any other country who behaved the way that Israel is

behaving.

I understand that Netanyahu is a big reason why they've gotten so aggressive and, frankly, so bloodthirsty under his reign. But I also

understand that it's impossible for us to say that we want a two-state solution while we've been aiding and abetting the very people who have been

trying to foreclose on the possibility of a Palestinian state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The question was, do you have an issue with just Bibi Netanyahu or with Israel as a country?

And you heard his response there.

How much do you believe El-Sayed's strong stance against Israel played a part in this win, James?

[10:35:00]

ZOGBY: It was it was very significant. He's a truth teller. And Israel and AIPAC and Netanyahu all, they've all become kind of litmus tests for the

integrity of a candidate.

When you do what Stevens did, which is come out and, you know, I dream of Israel and I love Israel, whatever, and ignore the reality that the country

you say you love and that you dream about is committing genocide just doesn't make sense to voters across the board.

I think that he raised the issues in a very important way, in a way that has not been done before. I mean, candidates usually will have a position

on it but not talk about it.

He actually insisted on talking about it, partly because of the Arab American community but also because, in Michigan, a huge population of

young people, of progressives, of Black voters feel very strongly about the genocide that they saw playing out in real time every day for three years

and continuing.

That was an issue that resonated. And he insisted on talking about it. He didn't duck it even when the millions were being spent against him. And I

think people respected his integrity on that issue.

He didn't duck it. He confronted it head-on. Let me make just one other comment about Arab Americans. You know, when I started some of the work I

do four decades ago, the guy running for mayor in Dearborn, Michigan, ran on the platform. He sent a tabloid out to everybody's home.

What about the Arab problem?

They don't speak our language and they don't share our values and they're ruining our darn good way of life, he said.

Well, we got the answer to the question, what to do about the Arab problem. You elect them to the highest offices in the state. We now -- Abbas Allawi,

who just a remarkable young man who led the uncommitted movement, won decisively in Dearborn, East Dearborn, and parts of Detroit for the state

senate.

We elected other Arab Americans this election. And Abdul El-Sayed is going to be the Democratic nominee. It's a big deal for the community and I'm

really proud of him.

ANDERSON: So and we are waiting to hear from him. And when we do, I'm going to cut in. So forgive me if that happens. There is a podium set up

for him there in Dearborn. So I'm just going to, in Detroit, sorry, in Michigan. So I'm just going to carry on watching those images and show them

to our viewers.

But as soon as we hear from him, we will, we will jump in. The Democratic establishment has argued for years, since the 2016 presidential primary

between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, at least, that moderates are more electable in a general election.

El-Sayed is now the most significant challenge to that dogma and the stakes are enormous. This is a must-win state for Democrats. You've probably

forgotten more about Democratic politics than most of us will ever know.

How do you believe he broadens his appeal and the appeal of the progressive part of the big tent, in Democratic politics, in order, firstly, to for

him to beat his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, and then for this to become a wider movement?

ZOGBY: Look, number one, let me just say, I love being the opening act for Abdul El-Sayed. It's -- it makes me feel great.

Number two on the question you asked, Becky.

The issue that Haley Stevens could never answer is, why did all the polls show that he would beat Rogers more than she would?

She lost -- was losing in many of the polls against Rogers. Abdul El-Sayed always winning. And here's the reason why because it takes something to

beat nothing. And when Haley Stevens didn't have anything to offer other than what the establishment has been talking about for years, it was a

losing contest against Mike Rogers.

Plus the money that she was getting from AIPAC, which built her up, wasn't going to go to her in a general. It was going to go to Mike Rogers, because

these are from a lot of Republican donors.

So she didn't have the money to hold her up and she didn't have a program. And Abdul has a program, a program that's a populist program that people

care about. They care about Medicare for all. They care about forgiving student loans.

They care about programs that create jobs and respect the needs of working families across the state. She didn't have any of that. She would talk

about, I want things to be affordable.

And then just, how are you going to do it?

And she wouldn't talk about it. That's how Mamdani won in New York. But it also plays well in Michigan, where you've got a lot of working class people

who've lost their jobs, a lot of farmers who are paying a dear price.

[10:40:00]

You have AI coming in and making life more expensive for people in rural areas. And here you got a guy who's confronting it head-on and he's pretty

much doing, I think, what Democrats need to do across the board, which is present a program that actually works for people and that they can

understand it's for them.

Moderates have lost. Hillary Clinton lost. And Kamala and Joe Biden were going to lose. If you looked at the polls in 2020, every poll showed that

Bernie Sanders would have done better against Trump than Joe Biden. Thank God Joe Biden won in 2020.

But people forget one of the appeals of Donald Trump was that he talked about working families. He talked about people's frustration with the

establishment, et cetera. His programs basically sucked but he focused on the anger, the frustration and the hurt of working people across the

country who felt that establishment stopped talking to him.

Democrats need to talk to those people with that message and convince them that we're going to make a difference for you. We're not going to be same

old-same old. We're going to be new. And Abdul is new and he presents an agenda that's new. And I think very important.

ANDERSON: Question is, I mean, I get your big picture on where Democrats and the Democratic Party should be headed. And I can see that you will be

advocating to party leaders, you know, that this is -- this is a direction that works.

Ahead of the midterms, the question is ultimately, will they listen?

You know and what will we see emerge as that sort of pathway, that, for the Democratic Party going forward as we are, what, less than 90 days away from

these midterms?

And then two years, of course, to the U.S. presidential elections, James, it's -- I couldn't have had a better guest on today to analyze and provide

some insight on what we have seen out of Michigan today. And I do want to get to Detroit now. Thank you, James.

Where one of the Michigan officials is speaking and setting up the opportunity for Abdul El-Sayed to take to the podium. He -- CNN, of course,

has projected Abdul El-Sayed the winner of the Democratic senate race in Michigan. Let's just get there and listen in to what's being said.

CURTIS HERTEL, CHAIRMAN, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: -- one of the best fighters for Michigan, someone who has always stood up, someone who knows

how important this election will be, somebody who helped get us a trifecta to change Michigan for the better, for people. My friend, state senator

Mallory McMorrow.

(APPLAUSE)

MALLORY MCMORROW (D-MI), STATE SENATOR: Good morning, Michigan. Good morning.

Did everybody get a little bit of sleep last night?

Doing OK?

I'm state senator Mallory McMorrow and I am so proud to be here this morning. It is an exciting morning in Michigan. And I know that this was a

long and brutal primary. Take it from me, I lived through it personally.

But what is most important now is that we recognize that, for all of the differences we may have had in this primary, that those differences pale in

comparison to the contrast that we face in November.

Now in pure Michigan fashion, I had made a commitment earlier that, no matter what happened in this race, that I was going to endorse the nominee

the minute the race was called and that I would be at their party.

When Michigan decided, maybe we're not going to the party's last night. So this morning with all of you, this is the party. This is the start of a

celebration of all of us coming together.

Now I want to say to my supporters, to the supporters of congresswoman Stevens, who fought hard and to the congresswoman herself, thank you. Thank

you for putting your name on a ballot. Thank you to everybody who volunteered. Thank you to everybody who organized.

Thank you to everybody who poured your heart and soul into these campaigns for almost the last two years. We need all of you, all of us, to stay in

this fight every minute going forward, because I can promise you that, today, Mike Rogers and Donald Trump are looking at Michigan.

And they are hoping that these family fights that we had, the disagreements within the Democratic Party, are the fights that we're going to retain

through November. They will be hoping that we are either too hurt, because we -- our candidate lost, or too proud, because our candidate won, to not

be willing to reach across and bring somebody in.

[10:45:02]

Or just to be too sad to move forward.

Well, this morning, are we ready to show the rest of the country what Michigan is made of?

Are we ready to show the rest of the country what it looks like when Michigan fights and wins?

Are we ready to do it alongside a fellow girl dad, girl parent?

And I just want to give a huge amount of credit. I mean, look, this is an ugly business sometimes. And I just got to meet Sarah Abdul. Thinking about

our girls and the future that it's going to mean for them in this state and in this country.

That's why I'm here today. I know that we share a why. I know that we all care about making a better future for our kids.

And that is why I could not be more proud to introduce you to now, officially, the Democratic nominee to become the next United States senator

from the great state of Michigan. Please join me in welcoming Abdul El- Sayed.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: I just want to say how grateful I am to my colleagues, Senator McMorrow, Chairman Hertel, to all of our incredible supporters here, what a

race. You know, in the words of Muhammad Ali, we shook up the world. And I want to say, just first and foremost, how grateful I am for the opportunity

to participate in democracy.

Now my family immigrated to this country from a place where there is not democracy. You cannot just put your hand up and run. And the ability to do

this, to have our voices heard, to select our leaders, it is -- it is a gift that sometimes we take for granted.

So to have participated means so much. And to my fellow participants, I just want to say how grateful I am to you.

Senator McMorrow, you ran an incredible race. You fought to end the corporate corruption in our politics. You took on the power of AIPAC. You

were willing to speak truth to a level of power that sometimes is unbeatable.

And I just want to want to say thank you and how grateful I am to have your support here today. I cannot wait to see what you do next. And I hope that,

for as long as I'm in this work, that we can be in this work together. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: To my colleague and friend, congresswoman Haley Stevens, we shared a great conversation this morning and I know that it was a bitter

end to this very long primary. But I also know that Haley brings the best of herself to her work.

She is one of the most committed public servants that you'll ever meet. She loves democracy like I love democracy. And whatever differences that we

might have had in the primary, they pale in comparison to what unifies us, a recognition that, so long as we want to keep our democracy, that

democracy better be working for people.

And that all of us have to come to come together to make sure that we never let Mike Rogers see the inside of the U.S. Senate. So congresswoman, thank

you for your race.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: And I have to say a few more thank yous before we talk about where we're going next.

First, I got to thank my wife, Sarah.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: I really -- when we decided to jump into this race, I knew that it was going to be tough for me but I also knew that it was going to be

particularly tough on our family. And the fact that she held it down alongside her medical practice, alongside making sure that our daughters

didn't experience this without thinking life was just normal.

That takes just an extraordinary amount of effort and sacrifice. So I just want to say how grateful I am to you, love. And I'm so, so honored and

thankful that we get to continue this 20 years on has been a hell of a ride. I owe her a 20th anniversary on her 21st anniversary because we

definitely didn't get one of those this year.

To my daughters, I know that they're not watching. But you know, I wish this meant I get a little bit more time with you. But give me three more

months.

Two, everybody who put their shoulders into the work, anybody who made a contribution, who knocked on a door, who made a phone call, who put

yourself into this democracy, who gave us your stake in democracy, this movement, this moment is for you.

And I just can't say how grateful I am to have earned the votes that we got. We took on a machine. You're not supposed to be able to beat $70

million of outside spending, a record amount of money spent in a campaign against a Democrat in a primary, in any campaign.

You're not supposed to be able to beat that. And what we showed is that the power of our money is greater than the power of their money.

[10:50:04]

What we showed is that, if you're willing to build a movement brick by brick, if you're willing to go and travel your state and have the

conversations in rooms big and small.

Starting in moments when people aren't even paying attention to an election but are paying attention to the price of gas and the price of groceries and

the price of housing and the price of health care, that you can build a conversation that builds into a movement that defeats Goliath.

This is what you all showed. And my hope is that our democracy will never be the same. So when Big Pharma and Big Tech, when DT and Blue Cross come

a-knocking, saying, you know what, this is our democracy and we're going to own it, from here on out, we can always point and say, no, this is the

people's democracy and we will always own it.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: This would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of so many allies and allied organizations. I got to give a special thank

you to my first endorsers, Bernie Sanders, the OG, who came in on day one, put his entire shoulder in the work.

I just hope that I can help to carry some of that load in the fight for working people and Medicare for all that he's been carrying for all of this

time.

To the UAW, the unbeatable, indomitable UAW, as a son of immigrants, son of a father who came to this country to build cars, I got to say that this is

still the best place in the world to make an automobile and that is because of the fighting UAW.

But it's also the best place in the world to build a family because of the fighting UAW. And our work is about making sure that the folks who want to

sell our democracy off to corporations and special interests don't get to take that away.

And I stand in lockstep with our UAW sisters and brothers.

To the AFT, the National Nurses United, the AFGE, the AAUP, thank you so much for your work. To all of the advocacy organizations who made this

possible on the ground, folks like the PCCC and MoveOn, folks like the Working Families Party, all of the constituency organizations who knocked

on doors and made phone calls.

Thank you so much for putting your shoulder into the work. I also have to thank all of our endorsers, 300 strong, who came in, spent their time with

us, came from just down the street or came from across the country to talk about what it looks like to build a movement of the people, by the people

and for the people.

I want to say how grateful I am to you. We built this campaign brick by brick. Back in April, I remember talking to a room of five people in a

discussion that most people will never clock.

But it was an opportunity for us to share an honest conversation about pain and about purpose. And I've been able to have 500 more of those discussions

over the past 15 months.

I trained to be a doctor and the single most important moment that makes a clinical encounter is that moment that somebody shares their pain with you,

believing that you could do something about it.

I don't practice medicine, as has been well documented by all of you. But I hope that I get to practice that part of things. And I've been able to

practice it but it requires people being willing to share their pain with you so that you can do something about it.

That is a moment, a piece of vulnerability people give you, because they believe that you can actually fix it. It's an investment, sure, in a

campaign. But it more is an investment in democracy.

And as we traveled our state, we were in living rooms in Lansing, VFW halls in Escanaba, basements in Grand Rapids, churches in Detroit. I got to meet

so many of you, Michigan. So many. And you shared both what caused pain but also what brought purpose.

And we forged a movement out of that, to get money out of politics, put money back in pockets and pass Medicare for all to guarantee health care in

this country.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: And for our troubles, the corporations, the special interests who would rather get to decide who our elected officials are than let us

decide who our elected officials are, they spent an unprecedented amount of money to beat us, attack ad after attack ad, after attack ad, after attack

ad, wall to wall ads.

But it turns out that the commercials are the part of the television show most people don't want to watch. It turns out that you can spend as much

money as you want on lies but it doesn't make them true.

It turns out that when you're able to reach out and dignify somebody's pain, people remember that a lot more than a 30-second ad played on a loop

on television. And it turns out that, when the people want something in this democracy of ours, the people can get that thing if we're willing to

do the work of that.

[10:55:00]

And that's exactly what Michiganders up and down the state showed, 12,000 volunteers knocking nearly 10,000 doors a day to defeat an unprecedented

amount of outside money, $70 million.

But right now, as bitter and as divisive and as cynical as the campaign against us might have been, I want us to realize that there is so much more

that unites us now, because the campaign that Mike Rogers --

ANDERSON: Well, that is Abdul El-Sayed, thanking those who supported him in what he describes as this new movement for democracy. Abdul El-Sayed has

been projected by CNN to have won that primary there in Michigan, that Democratic primary.

Moments ago, president Trump posted the following quote, "Great news for the Republican Party. El-Sayed, a Communist loser who hates Jews and

Israel, is the projected winner in his race with the Socialist.

"As usual, the polls were way off on this one. She was not expected to do nearly as well as she did. Now the Democrats crazy policies will only get

worse and worse."

Well, I predict you will hear a lot more from Abdul El-Sayed in the days and weeks to come.

That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. We will have more on this story with "ONE WORLD," which is up next. Stay with CNN.

END