Progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is seeking to win a closely watched Senate race, responded to US President Donald Trump's social media post attacking him and his wife.
President Trump has strongly criticised the Democrat since he secured a Michigan primary win to advance to November's general election. Mr Trump's most recent Truth Social post is likely to be viewed by many as Islamophobic and racist, among other things.
“Two very different Americas,” read the text posted above two pictures, one of Mr Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and a photo of Mr El-Sayed and his wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, who wears a hijab. The post uses Mr El-Sayed's full name, which many Republicans have started to use since he won the Democratic primary race.
During an appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Mr El-Sayed was sharply critical about three-times-married Mr Trump, when anchor Jake Tapper read and showed the US President's post.
“Yes, you've got two different visions of America,” Mr El-Sayed replied. “One in which your overlords are two people who don't like each other, but joined in the interest of making billions of dollars off of you, or two people who genuinely love each other, enjoyed some pancakes together,” he said.
“Sara and I actually like each other,” Mr El-Sayed continued. “I don't know about the first lady and the President, but from what I've heard, it's a bit of a rocky road.” Mr El-Sayed's wife is a psychiatrist in Michigan.
Last Wednesday, after a hard-fought primary campaign, Mr El-Sayed, a progressive, pro-Palestinian former Detroit health official, was declared the winner against centrist Democrat Haley Stevens.
Mr El-Sayed will now face Republican Mike Rogers in the midterms in November and, if victorious, will become the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate, and potentially help to secure a Democratic majority in the legislative body, which would be a significant blow to Mr Trump's agenda.
“Money out of politics. Money in your pocket. Medicare for All. Michigan ... We won,” Mr El-Sayed said in a post on X last week. “I am so proud to be your Democratic nominee for US Senate. Let's win in November.”
Mr Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee, has sought to portray Mr El-Sayed as a radical, and in a recent video asked for moderate Democrats to abandon Mr El-Sayed and support him instead. Within minutes of Mr El-Sayed being announced the winner of the primary, Mr Trump accused him of being a communist.
On Sunday, however, the Michigan Democrat showed no sign of retreating from his populist campaign style – he has often lamented and lambasted economic inequality and a lack of social safety nets in the US.
“Can you afford your gas? Can you afford your groceries?” he said on CNN.
“Sara and I are running because when we look our daughters in the eye, Emmalee and Serene, we want them to believe that they're every bit as able to have a better future than the one that they could have had under the Trump administration,” Mr El-Sayed continued.
Mr El-Sayed also said he recently spoke to Barack Obama, but declined to say if the former president would be joining him on the campaign trail. “I'd like to keep that conversation private, but it was a really warm conversation,” he said.
Midterm elections in the US will take place on November 3.
