Vance Fires Back at Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed: ‘I Think the Guy Is Crazy’
Vice President JD Vance unloaded on Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on Saturday, calling the progressive candidate “crazy” and warning that he would be a “terrible senator” for Michigan following a new round of personal attacks between the two.
The clash intensified after El-Sayed narrowly won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary and advanced to face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November. El-Sayed, a prominent progressive backed by figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens in one of the country’s most closely watched Democratic primaries.
During a Fox News appearance Saturday, Vance argued that El-Sayed’s agenda would hurt Michigan’s working and middle-class families. The vice president specifically criticized the Democrat’s economic positions and argued that his policies would be damaging to Michigan’s crucial automobile industry.
Vance also pointed to previous comments El-Sayed made about his family. El-Sayed previously referenced Vance’s children while criticizing the vice president’s immigration politics, questioning how Vance would eventually explain his views to his children and also encouraging second lady Usha Vance to leave her husband.
“He’s also gone after my kids. He’s just kind of an odd guy,” Vance said Saturday before delivering his assessment that El-Sayed would be a poor choice to represent Michigan in the Senate.
El-Sayed has responded to Vance with attacks of his own, accusing the vice president of political opportunism and “sucking up to power.” He has also challenged Vance to debate him publicly, even suggesting the two appear together on Joe Rogan’s podcast to argue about immigration and other political issues.
Vance dismissed those personal attacks and said criticism comes with serving as vice president. He instead attempted to keep the focus on the Michigan Senate contest and the policies voters will choose between when El-Sayed faces Rogers in the general election.
Republicans have quickly moved to make El-Sayed and his progressive record central to the Michigan race. His primary victory gives the GOP an opportunity to contrast Rogers with a Democratic nominee who has embraced Medicare for All and other policies associated with the party’s left wing.
Michigan is expected to be one of the biggest Senate battlegrounds of the midterm elections, making the increasingly bitter Vance-El-Sayed feud more than a personal dispute. With El-Sayed now officially the Democratic nominee, Republicans are signaling that his record, rhetoric and progressive agenda will remain under intense scrutiny through November.