Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed took a sharp jab at Vice President JD Vance on the campaign trail, dismissing the Republican's recent stop in the state as “a cute little rally” with a sparse crowd.
“JD Vance was just in Michigan. He had a cute little rally in Monroe,” El-Sayed said at a campaign event. “He invited the like, I don’t know, five people who like him.”
Vance had traveled to Monroe, Michigan, to rally support for Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who is locked in a tight race against El-Sayed for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. The visit is part of a broader GOP push to hold onto a pivotal chamber, with Vance stumping for Rogers in a state that could decide control of the Senate.
During the rally, Vance went after El-Sayed directly, telling the crowd that Michigan “deserves better than a little weasel who should shut his mouth and show a little gratitude to the country that gave him everything.” The remarks, captured in a video clip posted by the New York Post, drew an immediate response from the Democrat.
“What you’re talking about is a f—ing wolverine,” El-Sayed shot back, referencing Michigan’s state animal and turning Vance’s insult into a badge of local pride.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, framed the exchange as a broader debate over patriotism and belonging. “He wanted to raise questions about my commitment to America,” El-Sayed said. “I got a front-row seat to what my life might have been had I not been born in America. So don’t lecture me about America. I know America.”
He continued: “Let me tell you, nobody understands how deep and profound the gift of this country is like a kid who was born here but for the accident of history that allowed that to happen.”
The sharp rhetoric comes just over two weeks before the November midterms, with Republicans fighting to maintain their narrow control of Congress. The Michigan Senate race has become a focal point, drawing national figures from both parties. While Vance was in Monroe, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined El-Sayed for the second day of a multi-city campaign swing across the state.
El-Sayed’s mockery of Vance’s rally size echoes a broader Democratic strategy of portraying the GOP as out of touch with working-class voters, a theme that has resonated in previous cycles. Vance’s own controversial remarks about Indian heritage and his clashes with critics have kept him in the spotlight, but this trip was aimed squarely at boosting Rogers in a state that narrowly backed Donald Trump in 2016 before flipping to Joe Biden in 2020.
As the campaign enters its final stretch, both sides are pouring resources into Michigan, with polls suggesting a razor-thin margin. El-Sayed’s team is betting that turning Vance’s attacks into a rallying cry will energize Democratic base voters in a state where turnout could be decisive.
