A passage from JD Vance's 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" has recirculated widely on social media this weekend, with conservatives pointing to the vice president's writing as a rebuttal to recent comments made by Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed about second lady Usha Vance.
In the acknowledgments section of his memoir chronicling his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, and his family's Appalachian roots, Vance wrote: "Last, but certainly not least, is my darling wife, Usha... though it is one of the great regrets of my life that Mamaw and Papaw never met her, it is the source of my greatest joy that I did."
The passage resurfaced after El-Sayed, who is competing against Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, made remarks about Usha Vance at an Ohio rally this month where Vice President Vance criticized El-Sayed's past comments about Sharia law.
"So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no..." El-Sayed said during the rally appearance, a remark that critics called racist and interpreted as suggesting Vance's grandfather would not have accepted Usha because of her Indian heritage.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative critics swiftly condemned El-Sayed's remarks as inappropriate and racially charged. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, posted: "Why does Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed just assume that all White midwestern grandparents are racist?"
Commentator Meghan McCain called the comments out of bounds. "El-Sayed is an absolute vile, abhorrent, PIG," she wrote on social media. "Usha Vance is a beloved figure in our country and in my opinion Vice President Vance's most powerful secret weapon. Women in America truly love her - attack her at your own peril democrat psychopaths. It will backfire."
Conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky framed the remarks as revealing about El-Sayed's views of rural Americans. "If you're a rural White American living in Michigan, just remember El-Sayed believes you're a racist," he stated.
Journalist Emily Schrader responded directly to El-Sayed's post with criticism: "You are a racist creep."
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive voices have argued that El-Sayed was making a broader point about cultural change within the Democratic Party rather than targeting Usha Vance personally. Supporters noted that El-Sayed invoked Vance's family in direct response to the vice president's own rhetoric at the rally, where Vance argued that El-Sayed represented a version of the party his grandfather would not have recognized.
Some progressive commentators suggested the controversy overshadowed substantive policy differences between the two Senate candidates, particularly on issues affecting Michigan residents. They pointed out that El-Sayed has focused his campaign on healthcare access and economic opportunity in communities Vance criticized in "Hillbilly Elegy."
El-Sayed's defenders have argued that scrutiny of his comments should be weighed against what they described as Republican efforts to distract from policy debates. Some noted that Vance himself raised the topic of his grandfather during the Ohio rally, with El-Sayed responding to that framing.
What the Numbers Show
El-Sayed won the Michigan Democratic Senate primary with approximately 37% of the vote in August 2024, defeating two other candidates. He faces Mike Rogers, who served eight terms as a Republican congressman from Michigan before stepping away from elected office.
Usha Vance, the second lady, holds a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and previously worked as a lawyer specializing in election law and voting rights at a Washington-based firm. She has largely avoided public controversy during her time as second lady.
Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" was published in 2016 and spent multiple weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The memoir, which drew attention to economic struggles in Appalachian communities, became required reading for political observers discussing working-class voters ahead of the 2020 election cycle.
The Bottom Line
The controversy has intensified scrutiny of El-Sayed's rhetoric as he seeks to compete in a battleground state Senate race that national Republicans have targeted. The exchange highlights how personal family references can quickly escalate in high-stakes political contests, particularly when involving prominent figures like the vice president and second lady.
Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed and the Vance family for comment on this story but did not receive responses by publication time.