Michigan Senator-Elect and Sky News Reporter Clash Outside Detroit Polling Station
A street confrontation between Michigan's newly elected senator, Abdul El-Sayed, and Sky News correspondent James Matthews has drawn more than 12 million views on Twitter in under two days.
The clip shows the two men talking over each other outside a Detroit polling station on Tuesday, election day in the United States. Variety reported that El-Sayed held Matthews by the shoulders while repeatedly saying he would not answer his questions because Matthews worked for an international news outlet.
Matthews said he had not had a chance to put any questions to El-Sayed directly. El-Sayed approached him and started quizzing him instead. When Matthews pointed out that Sky News has a large international audience, El-Sayed replied, "Like five people."
El-Sayed also told Matthews that he wants zero votes in the U.K., that he is never going to run for office there, and that he does not care what Matthews thinks or what questions he asks.
An older clip also resurfaced. In it, Matthews asks El-Sayed to respond to Donald Trump's claim that he is "full of shit." Sky News first posted that video on its social media channels two months ago. It began circulating again after the latest exchange.
Matthews later described the encounter as "not pretty." He said it felt like a misstep for a politician who is normally sure-footed with the media. He also wrote an account of the exchange for the Sky News website, saying it had been a challenge for the network to get an interview with El-Sayed.
Sky News backed its correspondent. The broadcaster said it is proud of Matthews and that he was doing his job, covering the election and asking straightforward questions on behalf of viewers. It added that the result of U.S. elections affects people far beyond America, including in the U.K. and in the 138 countries where Sky News is watched.
Matthews is a BAFTA-winning journalist. He has been Sky News's U.S. correspondent since 2022, and he has worked for the channel for more than two decades.
The 12 million figure is a view count on one social media platform. Sky News has not said how many of those views came from its own broadcasts.
El-Sayed won the Senate race in Michigan. The clip, meanwhile, now sits in the feeds of millions of people who may never have heard of Sky News before this week.
