Jd Vance Abdul El Sayed Usha Vance Michigan Senate Rally Feud

US Vice President JD Vance has told Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed to “keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth” after El-Sayed invoked Second Lady Usha Vance in a social media post about Vance’s comments on his late grandfather.

Vance made the remark at a rally in Michigan on Monday, where he was campaigning for Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers. He also said voters were more interested in policy issues than comments about a political opponent’s wife.

“I actually think that the people of Michigan think it’s kind of weird when you talk about another guy’s wife,” Vance said.

Vance then attacked El-Sayed over his policy positions, accusing him of backing measures that had hurt the wages and jobs of Michigan workers. “But whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth because she’s way out of your league.”

Vance’s remarks came after El-Sayed responded to a comment the vice president had made about his late grandfather, whom he calls “Papaw”.

Criticising El-Sayed over his past comments on Sharia law, Vance had said he wished he could go back in time and tell his grandfather that a politician claiming to represent working people supported Sharia law and regarded criticism of it as white supremacy.

El-Sayed subsequently wrote on social media: “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…”

El-Sayed did not explicitly mention Usha’s race or ethnicity. However, critics interpreted the reference as invoking her Indian heritage and suggesting a question about how Vance’s white grandparents might have viewed his Indian-American wife.

El-Sayed later defended the remark, saying his point was to challenge the idea that some Americans had a stronger claim to belonging because their families had lived in the country for longer. He noted that Vance’s own in-laws are immigrants.

Usha Vance, meanwhile, brushed aside the remark, saying she “kind of laughed” when she heard about it.

She said she had never met Vance’s grandparents but knew and loved the children they raised, including his mother, aunt and uncle. She also said Vance’s relatives in Ohio had always treated her as family.

The exchange over Usha came amid Vance’s broader criticism of El-Sayed during Monday’s rally.

Vance described the Democratic Senate nominee as representing something “very, very evil” that he said was growing in the United States.

He accused El-Sayed of viewing politics as a fight for one group at the expense of others, rather than seeing Americans as citizens of a common nation.

Vance also referred to El-Sayed’s response to an attack on a Michigan synagogue in March. El-Sayed had condemned the attack while saying “hurt people hurt people”, comments that drew criticism for appearing sympathetic towards the attacker. El-Sayed later said his remarks “may have been misconstrued” as justifying something he did not intend to justify.

Vance also criticised El-Sayed for campaigning alongside Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who previously said on a livestream that “America deserved 9/11”. Piker later apologised for the remark, while El-Sayed recently described it as “dumb”.

“When I see Abdul El-Sayed campaign around the state with somebody who said that America deserved 9/11, what I see is a man who has sympathy and compassion for people who share his religion but have nothing for people who don’t,” Vance said.

He urged Michigan voters to “reject Abdul El-Sayed” in November.

El-Sayed responded later Monday, rejecting Vance’s characterisation and directing his criticism at the vice president and Trump.

“Evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires. Evil is making people pay more for groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars and actual war. Evil is dividing people for your own gain. Evil is selling out your morals for a little bit of power,” he said.

He added: “Michigan is better than being lectured to by sock puppets from Ohio and Florida.”

Vance also targeted El-Sayed over immigration during the rally, accusing him of supporting policies that he said would undercut the wages of American workers.

He cited El-Sayed’s 2018 support for allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain standard driver’s licences. El-Sayed did not specifically advocate granting them the commercial licences required to operate long-haul trucks.

El-Sayed is facing former Republican Representative Mike Rogers in Michigan’s November Senate election. The seat is open after Democratic Senator Gary Peters decided not to seek a third term. Vance was in Sterling Heights campaigning for Rogers and other Republican candidates as the party seeks to hold the seat.

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