US Vice President JD Vance has launched a personal attack against Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, warning him to keep his wife’s name “out of your mouth” as the state’s increasingly bitter election campaign intensifies.
Vance accused El-Sayed of having a “weird habit” of discussing his family before addressing him directly.
“Whatever else you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife’s name out of your mouth,” Vance said. “She is far too good and far too classy for you to mention.”
The remarks underscore the increasingly confrontational tone of Michigan’s closely watched Senate race, which could play an important role in determining control of the chamber.
Speaking at a campaign event in Sterling Heights organised by MAGA Inc., a major political action committee supporting President Donald Trump, Vance accused some Americans of viewing themselves not as citizens of a single country but as advocates for one group at the expense of others.
He claimed El-Sayed showed sympathy toward people who shared his religion but failed to extend the same concern to other communities. Vance urged Michigan voters to reject that approach and support Republican candidate Mike Rogers in November.
El-Sayed accuses Republicans of sowing division
El-Sayed rejected Vance’s accusations and argued that the Trump administration and Republican Party were responsible for the conduct he described as harmful.
In a statement reported by CNN, El-Sayed said the real wrongdoing was stripping healthcare from working people to finance tax cuts for billionaires, forcing Americans to pay more for food and fuel, and dividing communities for personal political gain.
He added that Michigan residents did not need lectures from politicians from Ohio and Florida, predicting that voters would deliver their response at the ballot box in November.
Dispute turns personal over Usha Vance
The confrontation became personal after Vance objected to an earlier comment by El-Sayed concerning his wife, Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants who was raised Hindu.
In August, El-Sayed responded to a video in which Vance spoke about his late grandfather, whom he called “Papaw.” Writing on X, El-Sayed asked whether Vance would take his wife with him if he could travel back in time to meet his grandfather.
El-Sayed told CNN on Monday that he generally preferred not to discuss politicians’ spouses. He argued that his comment was intended to criticise a political philosophy that, in his view, treats some citizens as “more American” than others.
Vance nevertheless accused El-Sayed of repeatedly invoking his family and issued a blunt warning against mentioning his wife again.