Michigan socialist Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is now reportedly facing a wave of criticism after invoking second lady Usha Vance while taking a shot at Vice President JD Vance, with critics questioning why the Democrat appeared to drag women into his political battles.
“El Sayed is now attacking Wives [sic] of US leaders? What a guy,” former Florida state Rep. Ben Graber wrote on X.
El-Sayed, who is running against Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers, made the remark Saturday after Vance criticized him over his stated adherence to Sharia law during a rally in Ohio. Vance suggested the practice would have been completely foreign to his grandfather, whom he refers to as “Papaw.”
“So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…” El-Sayed responded.
The remark appeared to reference Usha Vance’s Indian ethnicity and quickly drew backlash online. El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital when asked to explain what the candidate meant.
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, questioned why El-Sayed would “assume that all White midwestern grandparents are racist.”
Commentator Ryan Girdusky similarly argued that El-Sayed’s remark suggested he believed rural White Americans in Michigan were racist.
An X account operated by Democrats supporting Rogers also accused El-Sayed of sexism and misogyny, urging voters to reject what it called the “politics of division.”
Journalist Emily Schrader offered an even sharper response, calling El-Sayed a “racist creep.”
The controversy came after El-Sayed targeted another woman in President Donald Trump’s orbit earlier Saturday.
El-Sayed directed a post at presidential aide Natalie Harp after Trump blasted the Michigan candidate at a rally for campaigning alongside far-left socialist Hasan Piker, who has said that “America deserved 9/11.”
“Natalie, I think he’s had a little too much iPad for the week. He needs his rest,” El-Sayed wrote.
Far-left media figures and Democrats online have spent the past two weeks suggesting that Harp and Trump have an improper relationship.
GOP strategist Matt Whitlock posted screenshots of El-Sayed’s comments about Harp and Usha Vance and called them evidence of a “bad campaign” and “bad instincts.”
Whitlock criticized the candidate for spending a Saturday morning posting remarks that he argued a normal campaign operation would have stopped.
Tudor Dixon, the former Republican candidate for Michigan governor, also ripped El-Sayed for targeting women who are not directly involved in his political fight.
“He goes after Usha. He goes after Natalie [Harp],” Dixon said, calling El-Sayed a “coward.”
Dixon went further, questioning how El-Sayed would treat female staff members if elected to Congress.
Fox News Digital contacted the vice president’s office and a representative for Usha Vance for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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