The war of words between Vice President JD Vance and Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed escalated this week, with Vance dismissing the progressive candidate as “crazy” after El-Sayed accused him of abandoning his principles in pursuit of political power.
The latest exchange began Wednesday when El-Sayed criticized Vance during a campaign appearance, referring to him as “Peter Thiel’s boy,” a reference to the billionaire technology investor who employed Vance earlier in his career.
“I think we’ve had enough of him,” El-Sayed said.
Continuing his attack, El-Sayed argued that Vance had abandoned positions he once held.
“The last thing that he said that made any sense was ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’ After he said that Donald Trump had no business being president of anything, that was the last time he made sense, and then he decided to suck up to power,” El-Sayed added.
He went on to accuse Republicans of prioritizing power and financial interests over public service.
“But that’s exactly what this is about. You’ve got Republicans who will do anything for power and money, including corrupt their office.”
Asked later in the week about El-Sayed’s comments, Vance dismissed the Democratic nominee and argued that he would be a poor choice to represent Michigan in the Senate.
“He would be a terrible senator for the people of Michigan.”
Speaking in an interview that aired Saturday on Fox News’s Saturday in America, Vance criticized El-Sayed for attacking him personally instead of focusing on issues affecting Michigan voters.
“He’s just kind of an odd guy, but I think that it’s telling that instead of talking about what he wants to do to make the lives of Michiganders better, he takes personal insults at me. I’m the vice president, it comes with the territory,” Vance said.
Vance concluded his remarks by predicting Michigan voters would reject El-Sayed in November.
“I think the guy’s crazy and would be a terrible senator for the people of Michigan. We’re going to make that case, and obviously the people in Michigan are going to make their vote,” he added.
El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination for the Michigan Senate seat last week after narrowly defeating moderate Rep. Haley Stevens in one of the most closely watched Democratic primaries of the election cycle. The race was widely viewed as a test of the ideological direction of the Democratic Party heading into November.
