Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a campaign rally, calling him “very, very evil.”

Vance accused El-Sayed of showing sympathy toward people who share his religion while lacking compassion for others.

He also told El-Sayed to stop mentioning his wife, Usha Vance, after the Democrat made a sarcastic comment about her in response to Vance discussing his grandfather.

Vance was campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers and urged Michigan voters to support him in the November election, the BBC has reported.

El-Sayed pushed back against Vance’s attacks, saying the vice president was focused on personal and cultural divisions rather than the economic issues affecting Michigan voters.