A Michigan Senate candidate has drawn criticism for comments he made on a podcast about Vice President JD Vance and his family after they quickly spread online.
According to Fox News, Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, made the remarks during an appearance on “The Allen Analysis Show,” where he took aim at Vance’s personal life, including his marriage to second lady Usha Vance.
“What do you think is going through Usha’s head when he talks? She’s like, ‘Damn, I have to sleep with him,’” El-Sayed said.
“I guess she’s pregnant, so something is happening,” he added before shifting to Vance’s family.
“Can you imagine, he’s got Brown kids, at some point he’s going to have a really awkward conversation with his kids, like, you made your career hating people who are different,” El-Sayed added.
The candidate went on to criticize what he described as inconsistencies in Vance’s political views, referencing the racial makeup of the vice president’s family.
“He’s got to look at his kids and be like, ‘Yeah, those are Brown kids, they’re mine,'” El-Sayed said. “‘You know what I mean? And I had Brown kids. I had Brown kids?'”
Sayed continued, “I love my Brown kids, and I think my Brown kids are just as American as everyone else. JD Vance has Brown kids who he thinks are less American than everyone else.”
He also used sharp language to describe Vance personally, saying the vice president has the “charisma of a doorknob” and the “aura of a toad,” while at one point urging Usha Vance to “get out” of the marriage.
The comments prompted swift reactions from critics, including Tudor Dixon, a former GOP gubernatorial candidate.
“When you’re running on racial division, you have to keep stoking racism, especially if you’re the racist,” Dixon said. “Imagine smugly trying to break up a family because you don’t believe a White man can love his children. Pretty pathetic, and I think Michigan voters will agree.”
Rev. Jordan Wells, founder of Christians Against Antisemitism Institute, called the comments a “low blow.”
“This isn’t politics. This is personal, cruel, and straight-up disgusting,” Wells wrote on social media.
The controversy comes as El-Sayed campaigns in a competitive Democratic primary race. He is set to face Michigan State Senate Whip Mallory McMorrow and current U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the August primary.
The winner of that contest will advance to the general election, where former U.S. House Rep. Mike Rogers is expected to be the Republican nominee.
