Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Abdul El-Sayed at an Aug. 31 rally in Michigan, calling the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate "very, very evil" and urging him to "keep my wife's name the hell out of your mouth."
Vance made the remarks during a speech at an event in Sterling Heights, Michigan, hosted by MAGA Inc., a super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump. GOP nominee Mike Rogers, who is facing El-Sayed in November, also spoke at the rally.
It comes weeks after El-Sayed, a progressive public health official, secured the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan in one of the most crucial races of the 2026 election season.
The election of El-Sayed or Rogers could be key for deciding partisan control in the Senate, where Republicans
currently have a 53-47 seat advantage.
Watch JD Vance address Abdul El-Sayed at Michigan rally
JD Vance calls Abdul El-Sayed 'very evil,' El-Sayed responds
During his speech, Vance argued El-Sayed is part of a rising trend of people who "see themselves as fighting for one group at the expense of others."
"I realized that there's something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today," he said. "And it's people who see themselves not as citizens of a common nation, fighting for every single person, whether they're Jewish or Christian, whether they're white or Black or brown, but see themselves as fighting for one group at the expense of others."
In a statement responding to Vance, El-Sayed said: "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."
Vance also took aim at El-Sayed's actions on the campaign trail, rebuking his comments on a March synagogue attack. El-Sayed recently apologized for saying in the aftermath of the attack that "hurt people hurt people." It was seemingly in reference to the suspect having family members who were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Vance, El-Sayed exchange jabs over spouse comments
The dispute also took a personal turn as the vice president condemned El-Sayed for comments about second lady Usha Vance.
"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 said at the rally.
Earlier in August, El-Sayed responded to a clip on X of Vance referencing his late grandfather as he spoke about the Democratic candidate. In the clip, Vance alleges El-Sayed supports implementing Islamic religious law in the United States, but, according to Reuters, the comments distort a 2022 video of El-Sayed discussing a ballot proposal in Oklahoma.
"I'd love to go back in time and tell my Papaw that there is a man who claims to stand for working people, who says not only should we have Sharia law, but if you criticize it, you are a white supremacist," Vance said.
El-Sayed responded to the clip by writing, "So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…"
Asked about Vance's latest comment, El-Sayed told CNN's Kaitlan Collins that he'd "rather not talk about spouses at all."
"The truth of the matter is, Donald Trump, almost as soon as I was nominated, tweeted a picture of me and my wife relative to him and his wife, trying to highlight the fact that my wife wears a hijab as if to make an argument that that's somehow less American," El-Sayed said.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vance to El-Sayed: 'Keep my wife's name the hell out of your mouth'
