Vice President JD Vance’s latest TikTok targeting a rising Democratic star took a bizarre turn that nobody saw coming. The VP’s oddly specific fixation sparked a fiery exchange with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
JD Vance’s remark about Abdul El-Sayed’s facial hair draws attention
Vice President JD Vance shared a TikTok video on Tuesday mocking Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s facial hair. “So I heard in the state of Michigan they have outlawed patchy beards,” Vance said while entering a police truck. “Get in, patriots. We’re going to arrest Abdul El-Sayed.”
The video featured a montage of Vance clips set to KRS-One’s hip-hop track “Sound of da Police.” Vance’s beard fixation surfaced earlier during a speech at a defense contractor plant in Maine last month. He complimented maintenance manager Jamie Beers by saying, “I hate good-looking guys with beards because they make me feel jealous.”
Vance has also targeted El-Sayed on policy grounds, calling him “very, very evil” during a Michigan rally speech late last month. He has urged Republican candidates in less competitive races to campaign against the Democrat. “He’s got enough material for the whole country,” Vance said on Capitol Hill Tuesday, according to NBC News.
El-Sayed fired back at Vance’s attacks in a statement. “Evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires,” he said. “Evil is making people pay more for groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars and actual war.”
The exchange grew more personal after Vance said he would “love to go back in time and tell my Papaw” about El-Sayed. The Michigan Democrat responded on X by questioning whether Vance would bring his wife Usha, who is of Indian ancestry, on that trip. “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…” El-Sayed wrote.
Vance responded during a speech, telling El-Sayed to “keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth.” El-Sayed will face Republican nominee Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race in November.
