El Sayed and JD Vance trade insults about beards, being on TRT, and lifting

Published September 18, 2026 4:09pm ET | Updated September 18, 2026 4:58pm ET




Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed shot back after Vice President JD Vance’s joke about the left-wing candidate’s “patchy beard” on Friday, questioning whether Vance’s own beard is real.

Vance and el Sayed have sparred back and forth in the media for several weeks, as the Ohio State University graduate and University of Michigan graduate disagree on more than just politics and college football. After Vance made a TikTok video in jest saying he was going to arrest el Sayed after joking that the state of Michigan “outlawed patchy beards,” el Sayed fired back on Friday, taking aim at Vance’s own facial hair.

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