WASHINGTON — The midterm campaign is turning increasingly personal.
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, accused Vice President JD Vance of having a fake beard and challenged him to a weightlifting contest Friday. His remarks came days after Vance posted a video poking fun at El-Sayed’s “patchy” facial hair.
“If I actually met him, I’d be like, ‘All right, let’s just actually see how much paste did you have to put on your face to get that little weak beard?’” El-Sayed said in an interview with TMZ.
“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,” the Democrat continued. “We can 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 to pretend he is.”
The University of Michigan graduate then took another swipe at Vance: “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. And now you’re on what? Like juiced up on [testosterone replacement therapy]. I’m all natural, bro.
“I’d like to understand what your dose is, and I’d like to understand if your beard’s actually real.”
El-Sayed’s comments followed a humorous video from Vance in which the vice president pretended to be a police officer arriving to arrest the candidate over his “patchy” beard.
“My issue with you is not your beard,” El-Sayed told TMZ.
“My issue with you is that you are out here writing policy that you know is stupid. That’s the thing. You know the tariff war is stupid. You know the Iran war is stupid. You know it. You look at that guy on the other side in the White House and be like, ‘Damn, what’s the fool gonna do today?’” he said.
“And then you go out there, face a bunch of cameras, and defend [expletive] policy you know to be stupid, that’s hurting all kinds of people in my state and yours. And then 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.”
