$64M vs $7.1M ad spend in Michigan race
Hailey Stevens' side spent over $64 million in ads while El-Sayed spent just $7.1 million, yet El-Sayed still won the primary.
Snapshot · Pivot
Michigan's Primary Drama, the DOJ's Next Boss, and Hillary Clinton Co-Hosts
Explore episode
Aug 7, 2026
Where this was said
The Reflecting Pool, the Gold Horses, and Trump's White House Aesthetic
At 13:54 · chapter starts 8:15
The conversation shifts to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool debacle: a contractor hired without proper credentials turned one of Washington's iconic landmarks into what Clinton calls 'the algae center of the universe.' Even Jeanine Pirro, Clinton recounts, marched into the Oval Office to defend herself and pointed the finger at the Interior Secretary — a rare moment of internal accountability in a chaotic administration. Clinton then pivots to Trump's broader aesthetic transformation of the White House, including gold-embellished Oval Office walls and gold horses on the South Lawn. She says looking at it brings to mind her visits to Saddam Hussein's palaces after the fall of Baghdad — ornate, narcissistic, and disconnected from any sense of public service. She jokes about compiling a cleanup list for the next administration: de-gold the horses, take down the arch, figure out what to do with the half-finished East Wing ballroom. [1] — Hillary Clinton "Clinton narrates the farce of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation: a contractor who didn't know what he was doing was hired, th…" 08:15
The Reflecting Pool Debacle
Clinton narrates the farce of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation: a contractor who didn't know what he was doing was hired, the pool became 'the algae center of the universe,' and even Jeanine Pirro told Trump she couldn't make the case that it was her fault. Clinton sees it as a microcosm of an unhinged presidency obsessing over all the wrong things.
The White House Gold Rush
Clinton says Trump's gold-plating of the White House — including golden horses on the South Lawn — reminded her viscerally of meetings she held in Saddam Hussein's palaces after the fall of Baghdad. She calls it a reflection of 'narcissistic personality' rather than leadership, and jokes she's compiling a cleanup list for the next administration.
El-Sayed wins Michigan primary by slim margin
Progressive Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate Rep. Hailey Stevens in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, viewed as a bellwether of the party's direction.
Money Can't Buy Michigan: The El-Sayed Upset
Hailey Stevens outspent Abdul El-Sayed by more than 9-to-1 and still lost Michigan's Democratic Senate primary. Clinton says the result reflects a new political era where how a candidate performs on screen matters as much as — or more than — traditional credentials and money.
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