Vice President JD Vance described Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as "a very, very evil" person during a campaign rally, accusing him of divisive rhetoric and seeking to "destroy" the country. Vance's remarks, made at a rally for Trump ally Mike Rogers in a Detroit suburb, also included a personal admonition to El-Sayed regarding Vance's wife.
Vance specifically linked El-Sayed, who is Muslim, to controversial statements made by far-left influencer Hasan Piker, who had previously suggested that the U.S. "deserved" the 9/11 attacks. While El-Sayed has distanced himself from Piker, Vance repeatedly drew the connection during his speech, accusing El-Sayed of associating with "terrorist sympathizers" and empathizing with attackers.
El-Sayed responded to Vance's accusations later the same day, characterizing policies of the Trump administration, during which Vance served as Vice President, as "evil." In an interview with CNN, El-Sayed stated that "evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires" and "making people pay more for groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars and actual war." He further described Vance's actions as "selling out your morals for a little bit of power."
El-Sayed also clarified his comments about Vance's wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, who is Hindu. El-Sayed stated he was attempting to illustrate that Vance "believes in a political philosophy that says that some people are somehow more American than others."
The Michigan Senate race is considered a high-profile contest in a key battleground state. Recent polling indicates El-Sayed holds a narrow lead over his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers. The race has been marked by increasingly personal attacks between the candidates.
