Abdul El-Sayed speaks during a news conference at the Spirit of Detroit shortly after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Republican former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon said the two posts showed El-Sayed targeting women outside his political fight.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed faced accusations of racism and sexism over weekend social media posts targeting Second Lady Usha Vance and Trump aide Natalie Harp.
The criticism followed Vice President JD Vance’s attack on El-Sayed’s stated adherence to Sharia law during an Ohio rally.
Vance said El-Sayed’s views would have been foreign to his grandfather, whom he calls “Papaw.”
El-Sayed responded Saturday with a reference to Vance’s wife, who is of Indian descent.
“So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…” he wrote.
Critics accused El-Sayed of suggesting that Vance’s White Midwestern grandfather would have objected to Usha because of her ethnicity.
“Why does Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed just assume that all White midwestern grandparents are racist?” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote.
Journalist Emily Schrader responded: “You are a racist creep.”
El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for an explanation.
He is running against Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers in November.
El-Sayed also targeted Harp, an aide to President Donald Trump, after Trump criticized him at a rally for campaigning with socialist streamer 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.
Republican former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon said the two posts showed El-Sayed targeting women outside his political fight.
“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,” Dixon said.
Former Florida state Rep. Ben Graber also criticized El-Sayed, writing, “El Sayed is now attacking Wives [sic] of US leaders? What a guy.”
Fox News Digital said the vice president’s office and a representative for Usha Vance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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