Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s recent remarks aimed at Second Lady Usha Vance are backfiring, potentially estranging Michigan’s 130,000 Indian-American voters and important female constituents, sources shared with The Post.
His unprovoked comment drew criticism, with one Republican insider suggesting it highlighted El-Sayed’s insecurities. They accused the anti-Israel Democrat of resorting to attacking women to project toughness when he tweeted: “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no …”
“It seems like Abdul has a bit of a Napoleon complex, using women as a way to assert his masculinity, rather than confronting the men he claims to challenge,” the insider noted.
While Vance has not yet responded to El-Sayed’s jab, he is likely to address it during a campaign event in Michigan this coming Monday, insiders indicated.
“He’s definitely going to address it head-on,” said Michigan GOP Chair Sunny Reddy. “I think there will be a strong reaction from the community,” he added.
Michigan ranks third in the nation for female voter turnout, with Census Bureau statistics showing 69% participation, which is about ten points higher than the national average.
Republicans see a chance to attract South Asian voters away from El-Sayed, who is the son of Egyptian immigrants, in his closely contested race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.).
El-Sayed currently leads Rogers by a narrow margin of less than one percentage point according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Reddy asserted that family members should remain off-limits in political attacks. “We have our disagreements, but crossing the line to attack families and kids is just wrong,” he emphasized. “They aren’t the ones running.”
Reddy also expressed concern that these comments could alienate El-Sayed from middle-aged women, Indian-Americans, and various ethnic groups, condemning him for bringing up Usha’s recent pregnancy in his remarks.
“Enough is enough,” he stated. The party plans to incorporate El-Sayed’s comments into an advertisement, while Indian-American leaders have called for an apology.
This backlash follows another crude comment from El-Sayed regarding Usha during an April podcast, where he suggested her thoughts on JD Vance were inappropriate, making a joke about her current pregnancy status.
The harsh comment, linked to Vice President Vance’s late father, James Lee Vance, failed to land as Vance effectively rebutted the smear. In a recent interview, she mentioned she initially found it amusing but countered it by highlighting the affection from his children and how Vance’s father would have similarly interacted with her.
Last Friday, Vance invoked his father during a trip to Ohio while criticizing El-Sayed for implying that criticism of Sharia law is synonymous with white supremacy.
Vance’s father is a significant figure in his autobiography, “Hillbilly Elegy,” where Vance expressed regret that his grandparents never met Usha.
The Post reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for a statement.
This controversy surfaces as El-Sayed faces internal party pressure to distance himself from Hasan Piker, who has been accused of antisemitism and controversially stated “America deserved 9/11.” He was seen alongside Representatives Jamie Raskin and Debbie Dingell in Ann Arbor last Thursday.
Dingell, addressing supporters, insisted, “No reporter should question me about Hasan Piker again. That’s not what the focus should be for November.”
Former Bill Clinton advisor James Carville, however, was candid about his discomfort with El-Sayed’s associations, suggesting it would benefit El-Sayed to clarify which of Piker’s statements he disagrees with, since they made him “really uncomfortable.”
