US Vice President JD Vance used his address at the Republican National Convention to launch a fresh attack on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over remarks about his wife, Usha Vance, before turning his ire on a protester waving a Mexican flag during the speech.Vance accused El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate from Michigan, of judging his late grandfather, James Vance, based on race and questioning whether he could have genuinely loved Usha, an Indian-American Hindu.“He looks at him, sees the color of his skin, and decides that he could never have loved my wife,” Vance said.The remarks came after Vance and El-Sayed had exchanged barbs over comments about Usha and Vance’s family. During an August campaign appearance in Detroit, Vance had told El-Sayed to “keep my wife’s name” out of his mouth after the Democrat suggested Vance’s late grandfather might have disapproved of his marriage.Vance then broadened his attack to the Democratic Party, accusing it of becoming “the party of hatred” and saying it had abandoned the traditions associated with former presidents Franklin D Roosevelt, John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton.The vice president also defended the Trump administration’s record on border security, tax cuts and what he described as traditional values.During the speech, Vance was speaking about what he called “birthright” American values when a protester interrupted him while holding a Mexican flag. Vance told the heckler to leave the US and offered to buy him a ticket to Mexico.“If you love Mexico so much, get your a** over there. I’ll buy you the plane ticket,” Vance said.“We got to send a message this November,” Vance said. “This country was handed down to us by our parents and their parents before them. We received this national birthright, and we are going to fight for it by electing Republicans this November.”The protester was later escorted out of the American Airlines Center as Republican supporters and delegates cheered.Vance also referred to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk while discussing criticism of the administration’s handling of the Iran war. He said Kirk had opposed war but had also demonstrated that people could disagree politically while continuing to work towards what they believed was best for the country.“I think Charlie is a great example of how to disagree, but still participate in the work of saving this country,” the vice president said. “He did not always agree with us. Let me just give you one example: Charlie hated war.”“Of course, there are people who love what we’ve done, people who don’t. I’m not here to litigate the disagreements,” Vance added. “But what I’m asking you to do is do what Charlie did. Do not throw the baby out with your bathwater.”Vance ended his remarks on Kirk by stressing the importance of voting for Republicans, saying Americans should not hand the country over to “a bunch of crazy people” because of disagreements over policy.Vance is expected to be a potential contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028.
