Vice President JD Vance said there is something “very, very evil” about Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed during a speech ahead of the midterm elections.

“I realize there’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today,” Vance said.

“It’s people who see themselves not as citizens of a combination, fighting for every single person, whether they’re Jewish or Christian, whether they’re white or black or brown, but see themselves as fighting for one group at the expense of others,” Vance continued.

“And that is how, ladies and gentlemen, you destroy the United States of America,” he added.

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Mr. Vance was in Michigan campaigning for former Representative Mike Rogers, Dr. El-Sayed’s Republican opponent in one of the nation’s most hotly contested Senate races this fall. The vice president’s remarks appeared aimed at stoking tensions between Dr. El-Sayed and Michigan’s Jewish community, which the Democrat has been attempting to allay since winning his party’s bitter primary against a pro-Israel opponent in early August.

Over the weekend, Dr. El-Sayed, who is Muslim, met with members of the Jewish Democratic Caucus to apologize for a remark he made in March after an assailant drove a truck into a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. The candidate said he regretted saying that “hurt people hurt people,” a comment that some interpreted as too sympathetic to the perpetrator, whose deeds were described by authorities as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.” The man, 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, died in the incident.

Mr. Vance’s comments appeared to reflect a strategy of trying to harm Dr. El-Sayed’s standing among Jewish voters. The vice president’s one-day trip to Michigan also illustrated the stakes in the race, which many Republicans view as must-win if they are to retain control of the Senate.

In his remarks, Mr. Vance praised the rabbi of Temple Israel, the synagogue where the attack occurred, as well as a guard who was injured in a firefight with the attacker. He met with them backstage before the event, a spokesperson for Mr. Vance said.

Vance also criticized El-Sayed for talking about his wife, second lady Usha Vance.

“But whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife’s name the h**l out of your mouth, because she’s way out of your league,” Vance said.

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The New York Post shared further:

Vance urged Michigan voters to support Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in the Senate race as he rattled through controversial remarks by political commentator Hasan Piker, whom el-Sayed has refused to disavow.

“One of his main campaign surrogates suggested that America deserved 9/11, and you know, I was trying to understand what would motivate a person to say these things, what would motivate a person to do these things,” Vance said.

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“When I see Abdul El-Sayed talk about white supremacy being the root of opposition to Sharia law; When I see a guy like Abdul El-Sayed empathize not with the innocent children at Temple Israel or the security guards, but empathize with the person who committed that atrocious crime.

“When I see Abdul El-Sayed campaign around the state with somebody who said that America deserved 9/11; What I see is a man who has sympathy and compassion for people who share his religion, but have nothing for people who don’t.”

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