Abdul El-Sayed spent his weekend fighting JD Vance and Donald Trump.
Then he started targeting the women around them.
The socialist Michigan Senate nominee drew fresh backlash after invoking second lady Usha Vance in a swipe at the Vice President — then taking another shot at Trump aide Natalie Harp hours later.
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The first came after Vance mocked El-Sayed’s past comments on Sharia law during an Ohio speech, saying the modern Democratic Party would be unrecognizable to his late grandfather, whom he called “Papaw.”
El-Sayed answered on X: “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…”
Critics quickly read it as a jab at Usha Vance’s Indian heritage and at Vance’s rural white family.
“Why does Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed just assume that all White midwestern grandparents are racist?” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, asked.
Commentator Ryan Girdusky put it even more directly: “If you’re a rural White American living in Michigan, just remember El-Sayed believes you’re a racist.”
“You are a racist creep,” journalist Emily Schrader said in response to El-Sayed’s post.
You are a racist creep
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) August 22, 2026
Later Saturday, he turned to Natalie Harp, a White House aide who has recently been dragged into crude online speculation about her relationship with Trump.
“Natalie, I think he’s had a little too much iPad for the week. He needs his rest,” El-Sayed wrote after Trump attacked him at a rally.
That was enough for Republicans to spot a pattern.
“This is what I’m talking about,” GOP strategist Matt Whitlock wrote, posting screenshots of both messages. “Just a bad campaign, bad candidate, bad instincts.”
Former Michigan GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon went further: “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.”
He goes after Usha. He goes after Natalie. This coward picks on women who are not in his fight. Imagine how he would treat female staffers in the halls of Congress. https://t.co/YWFxA21nYN
— Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) August 22, 2026
Dixon took another jab at El-Sayed.
For people who overuse the word racism, this tweet from Abdul IS racist.
When will Democrats condemn this dangerous rhetoric? https://t.co/boimXFI0Rv
— Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) August 22, 2026
El-Sayed is running against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
His online style has already become part of the campaign.
The broader fight with Vance centers on El-Sayed’s past remarks about Sharia law and criticism of those who oppose it. Vance told Ohio voters Friday that El-Sayed represents a Democratic Party that has moved far from its old working-class roots.
El-Sayed could have answered that argument directly.
Instead, Usha Vance ended up in the middle of it.
Abdul El-Sayed sparks pushback over ‘racist’ and ‘sexist’ Usha Vance, Natalie Harp posts https://t.co/m0l8dH9n6F pic.twitter.com/tN5zIRJatQ
— New York Post (@nypost) August 24, 2026
