Abdul El-Sayed is facing a fresh wave of backlash after a weekend social media post dragged Usha Vance and a Trump aide into his fight with JD Vance. The Michigan Senate hopeful’s remarks sparked accusations that he was leaning on racial and gender-based jabs instead of sticking to the race itself, and the reaction online was fast, loud, and ugly.
The controversy started after Vance took aim at El-Sayed during a rally in Ohio, mocking his past comments on Sharia law and saying that view would sound alien to the candidate’s grandfather, whom he calls “Papaw.” El-Sayed answered with a post that many readers took as a reference to Usha Vance’s Indian background, and that opened the floodgates.
“El Sayed is now attacking Wives [sic] of US leaders? What a guy,” said former Florida state Rep. Ben Graber . That line set the tone for much of the criticism that followed, with opponents arguing that the post was not just petty, but revealing about how he sees women around political rivals.
El-Sayed, who is running against Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers, has already been a polarizing figure in Michigan politics. His campaign style has leaned hard into progressive rhetoric, but this latest episode pulled the focus away from policy and onto his social media instincts, which critics say keep making the same kind of trouble.
“So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…” El-Sayed said, seemingly in reference to the second lady’s Indian ethnicity. The campaign did not respond to questions asking what exactly he meant, which only added more fuel to the criticism that the post was careless at best and offensive at worst.
https://x.com/bengraber/status/2091154809076195812
“Why does Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed just assume that all White midwestern grandparents are racist?” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, in response to the post. Others piled on quickly, arguing that the message was not just a bad joke, but a cheap swipe that flattened ordinary people into a stereotype.
“If you’re a rural White American living in Michigan, just remember El-Sayed believes you’re a racist,” commentator Ryan Girdusky. That framing became a recurring theme among his critics, who said the post said less about JD Vance and more about El-Sayed’s own assumptions.
“This is why there were ads in the primary correctly highlighting how sexist and misogynistic Abdul is,” said an X account run by Democrats supporting El-Sayed’s opponent Mike Rogers. “He has so much contempt for women. If you’re over the politics of division. Reject Abdul El-Sayed.”
“You are a racist creep,” journalist Emily Schrader in response to El-Sayed’s post. The sharp replies kept coming, with some accusing him of hypocrisy for attacking women while trying to cast himself as the candidate of fairness and inclusion.
El-Sayed also went after Natalie Harp, a Trump aide who has drawn plenty of online speculation from far-left corners and Democratic activists. In response to Trump blasting him at a rally for campaigning with Hasan Piker, El-Sayed fired back, “Natalie, I think he’s had a little too much iPad for the week. He needs his rest,” which gave critics another opening.
“This is what I’m talking about,” said GOP strategist Matt Whitlock, posting screenshots of the posts directed at Harp and Usha Vance. “Just a bad campaign, bad candidate, bad instincts. Sitting at home on a Saturday morning tweeting bad takes that any normal campaign would shut down.”
“He goes after Usha. He goes after Natalie [Harp]. This coward picks on women who are not in his fight. Imagine how he would treat female staffers in the halls of Congress,” said Tudor Dixon, a Republican former gubernatorial candidate in Michigan. With the race tightening and the tone getting nastier, El-Sayed’s weekend posts have become the kind of distraction campaigns hate and voters never forget.
