Vice President JD Vance argued Wednesday that Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary was driven largely by what he described as “self-hating white liberals,” offering his assessment of the coalition supporting the progressive candidate during an interview on Fox News.
El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination Tuesday after defeating Rep. Haley Stevens in a closely watched Senate primary despite Stevens holding a significant financial advantage throughout the race.
According to the report, Stevens outspent El-Sayed by a nine-to-one margin. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee alone spent more than $30 million opposing El-Sayed’s campaign.
During an appearance on Fox News with host Laura Ingraham, Vance discussed the outcome of the race and shared his perspective on the political forces behind El-Sayed’s victory.
Referring to El-Sayed as one of “these DSA types,” Vance made the remark despite the Democratic Socialists of America not endorsing the Michigan Democrat.
“He basically represents the modern Democratic coalition, which is self-hating white liberals united to people who just came to the country for the first time and don’t actually have the sense of appreciation for it that they should,” Vance told Ingraham.
“Those are the people who are voting for El-Sayed,” he added.
The vice president’s comments came as Republicans continue examining the direction of the Democratic Party following several high-profile primary contests featuring progressive candidates.
Ingraham later shifted the discussion to higher education, asking Vance what he believes El-Sayed’s victory says about the nation’s colleges and universities.
Vance argued that many younger Americans were promised opportunities through higher education that ultimately failed to materialize.
“I think what that tells us is that a lot of young Americans were sold a whole promise at the elite universities in our country,” Vance said. “And that promise is that they were going to be able to go to college, get a degree, and everything was gonna work out fine for them.”
According to the vice president, many students instead graduated with significant debt while lacking the practical skills or credentials necessary to achieve the careers they expected.
“In reality, actually, a lot of universities sold these kids a bill of goods,” Vance continued. “They gave them a lot of debt. They did not give them useful skills or useful credentials, and a lot of these kids are very angry.”
Vance went on to argue that this demographic has increasingly become the core of today’s Democratic Party.
“But that really is — if you look at the data, Laura — the base of the Democratic Party today is downwardly mobile, hyper-progressive, well-educated people,” he said. “People, I think, who were sold a bill of goods by universities have a lot of debt, but not a good job to show for it.”
The vice president’s remarks tied his criticism of higher education to his broader argument about the Democratic coalition, suggesting that dissatisfaction among college graduates has contributed to support for progressive candidates such as El-Sayed.
The comments also stand alongside Vance’s own educational background. His 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, devotes considerable attention to his experience attending Yale Law School, where he frequently wrote about the educational opportunities and upward mobility he said the institution provided him.
El-Sayed’s primary victory has drawn national attention after overcoming Stevens’ substantial financial advantage and securing the Democratic nomination. He is now set to advance to the general election as Democrats look to hold the Michigan Senate seat, while Republicans continue scrutinizing the party’s increasingly progressive wing following Tuesday’s primary results.
[READ MORE: Trump Denies U.S. Munitions Shortage Amid Iran Conflict, Vows Crackdown on Leakers]
