A Michigan Senate candidate has turned a political race into a gym fight. Abdul El-Sayed is now asking Vice President JD Vance to prove his strength in a weight room.
It started with a video. Vice President Vance mocked El-Sayed’s facial hair. The candidate responded with a direct challenge. He wants to see if the Vice President can lift heavy weights.
El-Sayed told TMZ exactly what he wants. Should I encounter him, I would ask how much paste was required to create that feeble 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
The New York Post reported that El-Sayed is serious about the contest. He says the Vice President’s look is a trick. He claims Vance uses paste to make his beard look full.
El-Sayed went further than just the beard. He accused the Vice President of using drugs to look strong. He told reporters that Vance is “amped up on [Testosterone Replacement Therapy].”
He said he is “all natural, bro.” Then he asked a blunt question. I want to know your dosage and whether your beard is genuine.
The Washington Examiner noted that El-Sayed called Vance’s look fake. He remarked that the finest option is JD Vance, boosted by Testosterone Replacement Therapy, sporting a beard whose authenticity someone ought to verify.
GET IN, PATRIOTS!! pic.twitter.com/886Le51rwE
— Kaelan Dorr (@Kaelan47) September 15, 2026
El-Sayed claims his own look is honest. “At least mine, what you see is what you get,” he said. He wants the Vice President to prove his strength is real.
The candidate laid out the terms of the fight. He invited Vance to any gym in the country. “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 told the New York Post.
He wants to see the Vice President lift. “We can do it in DC and let’s see. I’d love to see him on a bench. I’d love to see him on a squat.” I wish to know if his strength matches his pretended toughness.
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
El-Sayed also brought up a past moment. He said Vance did not know how to hold a trophy. “You went to Ohio State, didn’t even know how to handle the trophy when you when you had to pick it up,” he said.
Vance did not back down. He called the statements “weird.” He told El-Sayed, “Keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth.” Vance also said there was something “very, very evil” about the candidate at a rally.
El-Sayed says his issue is not the beard. “My issue with you, is not your beard,” he told TMZ. He claims the Vice President’s policies are “evil.”
The Washington Examiner reported that El-Sayed also questioned Vance’s family. He seemingly asked if Vance would have introduced his wife to his grandfather if he were alive.
Vance pushed back hard on that point. He told El-Sayed to keep his wife’s name out of it. The Vice President called the comments “very, very evil.”
