El-Sayed: ‘Delicious irony’ that ‘habibi’ Vance ‘constitutionally obligated’ to swear him in

Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D) taunted President Trump and Vice President Vance in his victory speech early Wednesday after the two Republicans spent months attacking him on the campaign trail.

El-Sayed, who defeated Trump-backed Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race, joked about the prospect of Vance swearing him in to office in January, calling it a moment of “delicious irony” after Vance’s public personal jabs .

“JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January,” El-Sayed said in a speech to supporters in Detroit, using an Arabic term of affection.

“Wolverines 1, Buckeyes 0,” he added, referencing the rivalry between the University of Michigan and Ohio State University, Vance’s alma mater.

The Democrat then turned his attention to Trump, who repeatedly mocked El-Sayed’s name and attacked his Muslim faith during the campaign.

“Donald, I know you struggle with my name, so after JD swears me in in January, you can go on and call me senator,” El-Sayed said.

The remarks marked a victory lap for El-Sayed, who became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate after a bruising campaign in which his religion and progressive positions drew fierce opposition from Republicans.

Vance previously described El-Sayed as “very, very evil,” while Trump has repeatedly referred to the Democrat as a “jihadist” and a “communist.” Republicans also alleged that he had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which El-Sayed has denied.

The president escalated his attacks in the final hours before Election Day, claiming in a Truth Social post early Tuesday morning that El-Sayed “Hates Jews and Hates Blacks.”

At a rally in South Carolina, Trump told the crowd: “If you’re Black or if you’re Jewish, and if you vote for Abdul, you’re crazy.”

El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, will succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), keeping the seat in Democratic hands after one of the most contentious Senate contests of the midterm cycle.