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Abdul El-Sayed says ‘there’s a lot of healing to do’ after Senate primary

▶ Watch Video: Abdul El-Sayed talks unifying Democrats and views on spending for Israel

Former Michigan health official Abdul El-Sayed, who is now projected to win the state’s Democratic Senate primary, said Wednesday that “there’s a lot of healing to do after a hard-fought primary like this.”

“But I have said that this is a big open movement. We welcome anybody and everybody who understands that we need a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” El-Sayed said on “CBS Mornings.”

El-Sayed, 41, has been locked in a heated primary against Rep. Haley Stevens in the Great Lakes State for the Democratic nomination in a key Senate contest. El-Sayed’s campaign declared victory earlier Wednesday morning.

El-Sayed said he and Stevens had not had a chance to speak yet, adding, “We’ve got to bring the party together, and I know both she and I are committed to doing that.”

“We’ve only got 13 weeks to beat a guy who has no business being in the U.S. Senate, and so I’m looking forward to that conversation,” El-Sayed said. “I’m grateful for the hard-fought race that we had, and the things that united us, and the things that unify us are so much bigger than any of the things that divided us.”

The winner of the primary will face off against former Rep. Mike Rogers in November, who ran unopposed in the primary after narrowly losing to Sen. Elissa Slotkin in the 2024 race for Michigan’s other Senate seat. Michigan, traditionally a Democratic state which hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 1994, has voted for President Trump twice. The seat is among a handful that Democrats are defending this cycle, which are crucial to determining the party that controls the chamber.

El-Sayed said his campaign set out from its start to “build a movement — to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for All.” 

“Mike Rogers is a guy who wants to put more money in politics,” El-Sayed claimed. “So I think the things that bring us together are so much bigger. And the focus that we need to have to take on Mike Rogers and the Trumpism that he’s chosen to represent are the things that are going to bring us together.”

While El-Sayed, who ran on a leftist platform, secured the backing of prominent progressives in the Senate primary, his opponent was backed by many national Democrats, who pitched the more moderate candidate as more electable. Asked about his message to national Democrats who didn’t support him, El-Sayed said, “We have an opportunity right now to remember what it is that we’re up against,” citing the Trump administration.

“Whatever we may differ on, it is so much smaller than what we agree on,” he added. “So I’m looking forward to locking arms to defeat Mike Rogers and to beat Trumpism, to hold him accountable for the next several years, and to elect a president who believes in the value of democracy and wants to take on the responsibility of providing people healthcare and standing up for things like good schools and opportunity in our country.”

El-Sayed added, “I hope that today we can come together.”

‘Aura farming’ began as a meme. Latin American youth have turned it into a competitive sport

By CNN
(CNN) — A group of rowdy spectators gathers in a public square, encircling two young men facing each other with intense looks in their eyes. The crowd points their phones at the pair, who are alternating between short dances, rhythmic movements, and striking poses.This is not a scene from “Zoolander;” the crowd is attending a championship of “aura” in Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, according to videos posted to TikTok and Instagram.Tuesday’s event at the University of Costa Rica is one of many so-called “aura battles” that have taken off in Latin American countries, including Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. The contests appear to be designed for virality, with young competitors often demonstrating exaggerated versions of popular TikTok dance moves for the audience.Outrageousness seems to be the point of these battles, which have no apparent criteria, judges, or rules. Instead, contestants compete for crowd reaction and are rewarded with attention and, in some cases, small cash prizes.The phenomenon may have a special appeal to youth in the region due to a culture of assembling in public areas, Frederick Luis Aldama, a humanities professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told CNN.“These are definitely collective and public and person to person, and because in Latin America, we have a long history of the plaza, of the courtyard, of the gathering in the parks,” Aldama explained.They also provide a free, nonviolent space for youth to seek human connection among their peers and may reflect a desire to disconnect from technology and be present, he said.Aldama happened to witness one such “aura battle” in Mexico City’s Parque México.“What I noticed was completely against what I had been trained to think would be the winner, which is someone who was doing a more high-intensity kind of move,” he said. “I realized that the one that won was the one who just brought the kind of aura, the glow of absolute total composure.”Taking inspiration from ‘aura farming’The battle’s precursor comes from “aura farming,” a term that has taken renewed meaning online in recent years.“Aura farming” is described by the Merriam Webster dictionary as “the act of doing something to look cool, impressive, stylish, etc., especially — and importantly — without trying too hard.”The phrase first surfaced in early 2024 and has grown in popularity since, according to Know Your Meme. It reached a wider audience the following year through viral videos featuring an 11-year-old Indonesian boy named Rayyan Arkan Dikha, dancing at the front of a boat.With a steely disposition, Dikha is seen in the videos standing at the very front of a thin boat, executing a repetitive series of dance moves as a line of rowers propel them through a river. As the videos quickly gained traction, commenters and other social media users remarked on the high levels of “aura” possessed by Dikha.Since then, Dikha has accrued thousands of followers on Instagram and was named a tourism ambassador for his home province of Riau.As his performance amassed millions of views, the term “aura farming” began frequently appearing across the internet: from video edits glorifying anime characters to X posts celebrating athletes or celebrities.‘They become a character’“Aura battles” have begun appearing in public spaces across Latin American countries, often organized by local content creators and engineered for maximum virality. Videos of the competitions have received hundreds of thousands of views on social media.Victor Gabriel Tourinho Camargo, a Brazilian content creator known as Uvitinho, organized several tournaments in the city of Suzano.More than 200 people participated, Uvitinho said. Videos showed the participants packed into a park, including one dressed as a sheikh with a briefcase full of Brazilian reais.“The aura farming championship was something created with the focus of taking something popular on the internet and bringing it to reality, mixing it with childhood games and showing people and children that there is still hope for a more real life with genuine moments,” Uvitinho told CNN.“There was a mix of shy, antisocial and extroverted people… and in that moment, they all put aside all that, played together, and made friends,” he added.Mexican YouTuber Alex Crashers described encountering an aura battle in Mexico in a video shared this week. “Even though it seems silly, I got hyped every time someone pulled off a new move,” he said.Argentinian content creator Cielo, known as Cieloween, helped organize an “aura battle” in Chinatown in Buenos Aires scheduled for this Saturday after watching viral videos of a previous battle in the coastal city of Mar del Plata just days before. “The concept of ‘aura farming’ has been around for a while, but now the competition aspect has started to take off,” she told CNN.In many ways, the events resemble past versions of youth “battles” in which competitors were equipped with Pokémon cards, Beyblades or rap verses.Cieloween explained that the moves shown by participants vary widely. “It depends on the person and what they want to show. Some are more serious, while others are more humorous and entertaining. It depends on the person and the character they want to portray, because ultimately, they become a character,” she said.Cieloween said she doesn’t know how many people will attend Saturday’s event, but that the goal is to build community. “That’s what it’s all about: meeting people, being together, connecting with people who share your interests. Making friends, laughing. That’s what we’re going for,” she said.But the showcase has also attracted skeptics.The battle at the University of Costa Rica gained significant attention, with some viewers leaving comments on the videos over the spectacle.In the Brazilian city of Cuiabá, the mayor, Abílio Brunini, prohibited one such championship from taking place in the city’s main public space. “I believe that, in the future, the people who participate in this game will feel very ashamed,” he said.Still, social media videos showed individuals defiantly competing in front of the City Hall building in July.Despite some derision, the competitions have continued as participants embrace the absurdity and young people seek connection. “All this stuff that’s thrown at them, having gone through lockdown, having been like pulled away from these so-called third spaces, these plazas, these places of engagement. No wonder it’s coming back like a storm,” Aldama, the University of Texas professor, told CNN.He compares the criticism to the backlash faced by the Australian breakdancer Raygun, who was mocked for her viral Olympic performance.“There’s always going to be that negativity,” Aldama said. “But what I saw and experienced was really working-class youth, especially in Latin America, gathering to celebrate something joyful.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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