‘Keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth’: JD Vance fires back at Abdul El-Sayed

JD Vance escalated a dispute with Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed by warning him not to mention the vice president’s wife, Usha Vance.

Speaking at a campaign-style event in Detroit’s suburbs hosted by President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc., Vance said Michigan voters found it strange to hear El-Sayed discuss another man’s wife. He then told El-Sayed to “keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth because she’s way out of your league.”

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I actually think the people of Michigan think it’s kind of weird when you talk about another guy’s wife.

The dispute followed comments from El-Sayed suggesting that Vance’s grandfather would not have approved of his marriage to Usha, who is of Indian origin. El-Sayed was responding to earlier remarks by Vance that his grandfather would not have supported El-Sayed’s position on the working class.

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Whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth because she’s way out of your league.

Appearing on Fox & Friends, Usha Vance took a less confrontational approach. “I have to admit I kind of laughed,” she said. Although she never met her husband’s late grandparents, she said the relatives who raised him had treated her warmly from the beginning. She described his aunt as being like a second mother and said the surrounding community welcomed her during her first visits to Ohio.

“They are my family. They treat me like their family,” Usha Vance said. El-Sayed later defended his social media post on television, saying he was not making a racial comment. He said he was challenging the idea that people whose families have been in the United States longer have a greater claim to American identity.

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I have to admit I kind of laughed.

The exchange followed earlier personal remarks from El-Sayed about the Vance marriage. In an April podcast appearance, he speculated about Usha’s reaction to her husband’s comments and referred to their children in criticizing Vance’s career and views on difference.

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They are my family. They treat me like their family.