JD Vance Blasts Abdul El-Sayed: 'The Guy Is a Bit of a Joke'

Vice President Vance Responds to Attacks by Michigan Senate Candidate El-Sayed

Vice President JD Vance addressed comments made by Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a Fox News interview on August 31, 2026. The exchange followed earlier statements by El-Sayed that referenced Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, and their children, as well as Vance’s late grandfather.

Vance had previously told El-Sayed to refrain from mentioning his wife. El-Sayed had mocked Vance regarding his children and suggested that Vance’s grandfather would have objected to his marriage. At one rally, Vance described El-Sayed as “very evil.” In the Fox News appearance, Vance said he viewed El-Sayed’s repeated references to family members as crossing a line.

“I find the guy is a bit of a joke,” Vance said, noting that El-Sayed frequently discussed his wife, grandmother, and other relatives. Vance stated that criticism directed at him personally was acceptable given his position, but he drew a distinction for family members. “If you want to attack me, feel free to attack me. I’m the vice president of the United States. But I don’t know who his wife is. I’m sure she’s a lovely person. Just keep families out of this stuff,” Vance said.

Vance also discussed El-Sayed’s policy positions. He said El-Sayed responded to disagreements by labeling opponents as white supremacists, particularly in debates involving Sharia law. When asked whether he considered El-Sayed a socialist, Vance replied, “He clearly is a socialist.”

Vance described El-Sayed’s platform as focused on distributing education spots and jobs according to racial and ethnic criteria. “You look at his entire political program; it’s fundamentally about handing out political favors, university education spots, jobs to his favored ethnic groups. And again, if you disagree with it, he’ll call you names. He’ll call you a white supremacist,” Vance said.

He distinguished this approach from the socialism associated with Senator Bernie Sanders. “This is not Bernie Sanders style socialism,” Vance said. “This is good racial group, bad racial group.” Vance characterized the framework as dividing Americans into categories where certain groups, including White, Jewish, and Asian people, were labeled negatively and others positively. “If you’re White, if you’re Jewish, if you’re Asian, you’re bad. If you’re something else, you’re good. And it’s about pitting those groups of people against each other,” he said.

Vance contrasted the approach with the Republican Party under President Donald Trump. “What I love about President Trump’s Republican Party is everybody’s welcome,” Vance said.

The comments occurred during a Michigan Senate race in which Republicans have stated an intention to seek the seat. El-Sayed had made repeated references to Vance’s family over several months. Vance’s initial public response focused on keeping family members out of the campaign, while the later interview connected those references to broader policy disagreements.

Vance’s statements on the interview were recorded and distributed through social media accounts, including clips from TV News Now and Rapid Response 47. The remarks addressed both the personal nature of El-Sayed’s earlier comments and Vance’s assessment of El-Sayed’s record on education, employment, and group-based policies. No immediate response from El-Sayed to the Fox News interview was included in the coverage of the exchange.