MICHIGAN — Vice President JD Vance accused Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed of embodying “evil” and defending terrorism during a speech in Sterling Heights, Michigan on Monday. The remarks escalated tensions in the race as El-Sayed responded by accusing the vice president of using Islamophobic dog whistles to divide voters along ethnic and religious lines.

Vance characterized El-Sayed as a representative of “terrible evil” who fights for one group at the expense of others. In his address, the vice president stated, “There’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil. And on the rise in the United States of America today.” He urged Michigan voters to reject El-Sayed, claiming the Democrat “defends literal terrorism.” He also called on the electorate to support Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan.

The vice president framed his criticism around the concept of common citizenship, arguing that prioritizing specific ethnic groups erodes national unity. “When you have people who start to say my ethnic group deserves something and yours doesn’t, or that ethnic group is good and this other ethnic group is bad, that is how you erode the very foundations of commonality and common citizenship that we need to continue to have the United States be the most powerful and prosperous nation anywhere in the world,” Vance said. He concluded his appeal by asking voters to send the crazy people to the curb, send a message to the elected leadership of the Democratic party that if you want us to vote for you, you’ve got to stop sending us crazy people to represent your party.

El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim US senator if he wins in November, rejected Vance's characterization. He accused the vice president of employing a dog whistle regarding Islamophobic attacks. El-Sayed offered a different definition of the term Vance used, stating that 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. He referred to Vance and Rogers as "sock puppets from Ohio and Florida". Vance represented the state of Ohio in the United States Senate from 2023 to 2025.

The rhetoric followed earlier comments by former President Donald Trump, who posted a photo of El-Sayed and his wife alongside one of Trump and his wife last month. Trump wrote “two VERY DIFFERENT America’s [sic]” with the image. El-Sayed said Trump's post was an attempt to point out that his wife wears a hijab, as if to make an argument that that’s somehow less American. He he believes in an America where any of us – me, his wife, any of us with different color skin or who pray different ways – can be just as American as JD and his Papaw, but he’s not making that argument. Vance had previously referenced his late grandfather, whom he called “Papaw,” in an Ohio speech where he said he would struggle to explain the modern Democratic party to him.

El-Sayed on Monday night he would "rather not talk about spouses at all", noting he brought up Usha Vance because JD Vance’s political philosophy relies on an idea that some people are more American than others. Usha Vance is Indian American. He added that Vance likes to dog whistle about these things, but when you actually call him out on it, he acts like he would never bring anything like that into our political conversation, despite him and his boss doing that every single day. Sunny Reddy, the Michigan state GOP party co-chair, criticized the personal nature of the attacks.

“We may have differences. We attack each other. But going to the family and the kids is a disaster. They are not the one running,” Reddy said.

Vance also called attention to comments El-Sayed made after an attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan earlier this year. A man rammed a truck filled with gas and fireworks into the synagogue. On March 12, 2026, 41-year-old Ayman Mohamed Ghazali reportedly rammed his vehicle into Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, opened fire, and died by suicide.

One security guard was injured and 63 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation following the attack. El-Sayed noted the attacker had lost family members in an airstrike in Lebanon and said “hurt people hurt people.” He later said he “made a mistake” and should have issued a statement that solely condemned the attack. Vance has also accused El-Sayed of wanting to impose sharia law in remarks made in Ohio.

Why It Matters

The exchange shows the role of religious and ethnic identity in the Michigan Senate race. According to Census Bureau data, Michigan ranks third nationally in female voter participation, with 69% of women turning out, about 10 points above the national average. The focus on these demographics comes as El-Sayed seeks to become the first Muslim US senator.

What's New

Sunny Reddy is the Michigan state GOP party co-chair. Abdul El-Sayed appeared with Reps. Jamie Raskin and Debbie Dingell in Ann Arbor on Thursday.

Debbie Dingell told a crowd of supporters: “Don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker. It’s not what November is about.” James Carville said on his podcast: “I find this guy [El-Sayed] to be really, really troubling. I think he’d do himself some good if he made very clear the specific things Hasan Piker said that he disagrees with, because I gotta tell you, they make me really, really uncomfortable.” Sunny Reddy said: “We may have differences. We attack each other. They are not the one running.” Abdul El-Sayed was a candidate in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial election, placing second to Gretchen Whitmer in the Democratic primary. On March 12, 2026, 41-year-old Ayman Mohamed Ghazali rammed his vehicle into Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, opened fire, and died by suicide.