In brief
Vice‑President John D. "JD" Vance attacked former Detroit mayor Abdul El‑Sayed at a Michigan Senate campaign rally, calling him a "very, very evil" figure and accusing him of divisiveness. Vance also warned El‑Sayed to refrain from mentioning his wife’s name, after the candidate had suggested that Vance’s late grandfather would reject a Hindu second‑lady. El‑Sayed, a Muslim US politician, responded by calling out the Trump administration’s policies as “evil.” The clash reflects the escalating personal attacks that are defining the Michigan Senate race as both camps vie for control of a swing state.
Vice‑President John D. Vance, a top nominee for a US Senate seat in Michigan, staged a barrage of personal attacks against former Detroit mayor Abdul El‑Sayed at a rally in a Detroit suburb on Monday evening.
Vance called El‑Sayed a “very, very evil” person and warned him that his political ambitions were a threat to the country’s unity. He added, “I realise that there is something about Abdul El‑Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today.” The Vice‑President suggested that El‑Sayed’s remarks about Vance’s late grandfather showing disapproval of the Hindu second‑lady were a sign of his divisive character.
The candidate, 41, had previously campaigned alongside controversial far‑left influencer Hasan Piker, who once implied that the United States had “deserved” the 9/11 attacks. While El‑Sayed has denied ever supporting such views, Vance linked the two men, reinforcing his argument that El‑Sayed’s campaign was built on leftist rhetoric.
El‑Sayed fired back in an interview with CNN later that day, accusing the Trump administration of “evil” policies that stripped healthcare, increased food and gas costs, and fomented trade wars and real conflicts. He also clarified that his remarks about the Vance family were an attempt to expose a perceived belief that “some people are more American than others.”
The Michigan Senate race has become one of the most watched contests in the 2026 mid‑term elections, as the state was swung to Donald Trump in 2024 and back to Joe Biden in 2020. A recent survey by Michigan electoral firm Epic‑MRA suggests El‑Sayed holds a narrow four‑point lead over incumbent Senator Mike Rogers – a former police chief turned ally of the former president.
