Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed used his victory speech early Wednesday to needle Vice President JD Vance, who will be required to swear him into the Senate.
“JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January,” El-Sayed said, laughing as the crowd roared, according to The Daily Beast.
El-Sayed claimed victory over Trump-backed Republican Mike Rogers around 1:30 a.m. The Associated Press called the race for him about an hour later, The Daily Beast reported. The outlet said he is the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Senate.
The progressive Democrat also took aim at President Donald Trump, who the outlet reported had repeatedly attacked him on the campaign trail, including by calling him a “jihadist.” El-Sayed opened by using his full name, a reference to Trump’s habit of calling him “Mohamed El-Sayed.”
“My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed,” he said. “And I am so proud and honored to stand here as your senator-elect for the great state of Michigan.”
He then turned to a phrase he’d used throughout the race.
“Up until right about now, you might have noticed that I always say ‘Inshallah,’ or ‘God willing’ whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned. But tonight we can turn that Inshallah into a… alhamdulillah!” he said. The crowd joined in on the phrase, which means “praise be to God.”
Trump went after El-Sayed one last time Tuesday as voters headed to the polls. According to The Daily Beast, he posted on Truth Social: “Abdul El-Sayed Hates Jews and Hates Blacks. Don’t feel bad, he also Hates Whites. Only fools would vote for him in the Michigan race for the U.S. Senate! He will, 100%, do you in! VOTE FOR MIKE ROGERS.”
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, beat former Rep. Haley Stevens in the August Democratic primary. Stevens endorsed Rogers on Sunday, two days before the election.
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