Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed fired back at President Donald Trump Sunday morning after the president lobbed an attack some critics have described as a blatant “racism.”
El-Sayed was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper about two images the president shared Saturday evening — one of Trump and his wife Melania, the other of El-Sayed and his headscarf-clad wife Sarah Jukaku — and the misspelled caption “Two VERY DIFFERENT America’s.”
“He’s right!" the Michigan Democrat replied.
El-Sayed then explained to a surprised Tapper what he saw in the two photos: a decision for American voters.
"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," El-Sayed said, "or two people who genuinely love each other enjoyed some pancakes together want to come together to build the kind of America where they can raise a family."
The Senate hopeful then turned to the issues he felt mattered more than his wife's headscarf.
“You’ve got two different visions of America; Donald Trump’s vision is the one you’re living in right now," he said. "Can you afford your gas, can you afford your groceries? Do you believe, when you look your kids in the eye, that they’re going to have a better future than you did?”
El-Sayed dove deeper into comparisons between his and Trump’s marriages – a comparison Trump first initiated – arguing that one factor clearly separated the two pairs.
“Sarah and I like each other,” he said. “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.”
According to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Trump and Mrs. Trump reportedly sleep in separate rooms, with Trump sleeping in what’s been dubbed the “living room” of the White House.
Mrs. Trump resides in the White House’s master bedroom. Also according to Haberman and Swan, Trump has resorted to pillaging gold from the White House hallways in a race to “have the better room.”
El-Sayed on Trump posting an image of him and his wife in a restaurant with the caption "two VERY DIFFERENT Americas": "He's right. One in which your overlords are two people who don't like each other but joined in the interest in making billions of dollars off of you, or two… pic.twitter.com/i15NV1bv5I
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 9, 2026