# Sky News Stands By Journalist Following Heated Exchange With Abdul El-Sayed: ‘We’re Proud of Our Correspondent, Who Was Doing His Job’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/sky-news-stands-by-journalist-following-heated-exchange-with-abdul-el-sayed-were-proud-of-our-correspondent-who-was-doing-his-job/
- Published: 2026-11-05T10:06:13+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T10:22:21+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/tv/global/sky-news-james-matthews-abdul-el-sayed-proud-1236940080/
- Topics: Elections, Entertainment, Film, Politics, Trending, Weird & Viral

## Key points

- Sky News says Matthews was doing his job.
- The exchange drew over 12 million views in under 48 hours.
- Sky says US elections matter to audiences in 138 countries.

## Summary

Sky News has defended US correspondent James Matthews after his heated exchange with newly elected Senator Abdul El-Sayed outside a Detroit polling station. The row drew attention to the tension between a politician’s view of his intended voters and international media’s role in covering US elections.

A clip of the exchange attracted more than 12 million views on Twitter in under 48 hours. El-Sayed said he would not answer Matthews because he worked for a UK-based international outlet, while Matthews said he had not been able to ask a question before El-Sayed began questioning him. Sky said US election results affect audiences in the UK and in 138 countries; Matthews has worked for the broadcaster for more than 20 years and has been its US correspondent since 2022.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.