Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has found a new way to avoid talking about policy: settling his latest feud with Vice President JD Vance in the weight room.
TMZ’s Jacob Wasserman caught up with El-Sayed near the U.S. Capitol after Vance mocked his “patchy beard” in a video, joked that Michigan had outlawed patchy beards, and climbed into a police vehicle, saying, “Get in, patriots. We’re gonna go arrest, Abdul El-Sayed.”
El-Sayed went straight for the beard.
Abdul El-Sayed tells me he doesn’t think JD Vance’s beard is real and challenges him to a weight lifting competition pic.twitter.com/QmbWX00DZT
— Jacob Wasserman (@jacob_wass) September 18, 2026
“At least, I mean, at least mine is what you see is what you get. And at the end of the day, with my beard, look, I’m happy to say if he thinks that my beard is somehow indicative of my strength, I’m happy to invite him to any weight room in any place,” El-Sayed said.
He offered Washington, D.C., as the venue and challenged Vance to a bench press and squat competition.
“We could do it in D.C. and let’s see. I’d love to see him on a bench. I’d love to see him on a squat. I’d love to understand if he’s as strong as he likes.”
Twitter reacted quickly.
Why is this guy always trying to emasculate other people? It’s getting to the point of projection and it’s weird. No one cares about your beard or how much you bench they care about their country not being ran by people who think 9/11 was good
— Nalin Haley (@Nalin_Haley) September 18, 2026
Dude is weird as hell man. Shady as they come.
— Chocolate lab (@kabetogama1989) September 18, 2026
I’m old enough to remember when the little guy wanted to make his campaign about real issues affecting everyday Americans. https://t.co/LbtmAMMB6u
— Joe Cunningham (@JoePCunningham) September 19, 2026
Nothing says “serious midterm candidate” like telling TMZ the Vice President’s beard is glued on and you want to see him squat.
— Me Chomper (@chmpr) September 18, 2026
Every time this guy opens his mouth, he makes it extremely clear that he’s under 6’0 tall. https://t.co/MueHh75HTz
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 18, 2026
El-Sayed then brought up Vance fumbling the Ohio State national championship trophy when the Buckeyes visited the White House. TMZ included the trophy mishap in its report on the exchange.
Then came the TRT claim.
“JD, listen, man, you talk a good game. You went to Ohio State, didn’t even know how to handle the trophy when you had to pick it up, right? And now you’re on what, like, juiced up on TRT. I’m all natural, bro.”
El-Sayed offered no evidence that Vance uses testosterone replacement therapy.
“I’d like to understand what your dose is, and I’d like to understand if your beard’s actually real,” El-Sayed said.
After the weightlifting challenge and the TRT accusations, El-Sayed did eventually get around to policy. He accused Vance of backing positions that he claimed the vice president privately knows are “stupid,” specifically naming tariffs and U.S. policy toward Iran.
“My issue with you is that you are out here riding policy that you know is stupid. That’s the thing. You know the tariff war is stupid. You know the Iran war is stupid.”
He also accused Vance of playing the “tough guy” because he is unwilling to confront President Donald Trump.
“You try to act the tough guy because you can’t be a tough guy to the actual boss because you’re afraid of him,” El-Sayed said.
The beard and weightlifting challenge is only the latest example of a pattern Legal Insurrection has documented: when El-Sayed faces a direct challenge, the subject changes. The personal attacks on Vance have been escalating for months.
Vance went after El-Sayed in August over his past comments about Sharia law while speaking at the Cleveland-Cliffs Middletown Works steel plant in Ohio. Vance said El-Sayed had argued that people who criticize Sharia law are white supremacists.
El-Sayed answered by bringing Second Lady Usha Vance into it.
“So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…”
Legal Insurrection previously reported that El-Sayed had also targeted Vance’s family during an April podcast appearance. He repeatedly referred to the Vances’ children as “Brown kids,” claimed Vance believed his own children were less American, and told Usha Vance to leave her husband.
“JD Vance has Brown kids who he thinks are less American than everyone else,” El-Sayed said. “Usha, like, get out. Okay? Still got time.”
The subject keeps changing. The dodge doesn’t. Now El-Sayed wants to fight about beards and bench press instead of Sharia law, Hasan Piker, or the families he has spent months using as political props. Michigan voters can decide what that says about him.
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