Dr. El-Sayed, who ran for governor in 2018 and could become the first Muslim senator, has at times been compared to Mr. Obama. Both men are skilled orators. And both of their fathers immigrated to the United States from Africa. (Mr. Obama’s father came from Kenya, Dr. El-Sayed’s from Egypt.)
On Sunday, Dr. El-Sayed recalled watching Mr. Obama’s 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention as a college student and seeing politics in a new light.
“I never saw myself in politics until I saw him give that 2004 speech on the D.N.C. floor,” Dr. El-Sayed told the CNN host Jake Tapper.
At times, though, Dr. El-Sayed has also pushed back on comparisons to Mr. Obama.
“I’m very thankful for what he was able to change in our politics about who could and couldn’t aspire to leadership,” Dr. El-Sayed told Vox in 2017. But he added that there were “a lot of things I disagree with President Obama on — in terms of both domestic and, certainly, international politics. I’m not him, and I have no intention of being him.”
In his 2020 book, “Healing Politics,” Dr. El-Sayed wrote that Mr. Obama’s presidency in part represented “inspiring intentions unfulfilled.”
After the call, though, Dr. El-Sayed did not seem to be dwelling on their disagreements.
“Sometimes,” he said in a statement, “you really should meet your heroes.”
Michael Kruse contributed reporting.