Dem Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed recounts smashing vodka bottle after beard criticism

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In a recent podcast appearance,MichiganDemocratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed admitted to destroying property in a liquor store in Detroit over remarks about the length of his beard, a sign of religious observance among Muslim communities.

“He says, ‘Are you Muslim?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Well, your beard is too short.’ I said, ‘Ok you’re gonna judge me?Ok, give me a second, I forgot something,’” El-Sayed said while on left-leaningYouTube show“Intellectually Petty.”

“So, I walk back, I get a fifth of vodka, and put it on the counter.He’s like, ‘Hey, you can’t buy that,’ and I was like, ‘You’re right, and you can’t sell it.’ So, I smashed it on the ground and walked out.”

The account is emerging as a new line of attack for some Republicans in the closely watched Senate race.

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Abdul El-Sayed standing and speaking at an event

Abdul El-Sayed, U.S.Senate candidate in Michigan, speaks at an event.(Monica Morgan/Getty Images)

Hunter Lovell, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), believes it displays a willingness to become aggressive over matters offaith.

“Abdul El-Sayed thinks he gets a free hall pass by using his religion as a way topromote violent extremism,” Lovell said.“In reality, Michigan voters see a deeply disturbed man with anger management issues who belongs nowhere near the United States Senate.”

El-Sayed’s campaign, when asked about Lovell’s comments, did not address the incident in the liquor store.

“Yes — Abdul is angry on behalf of the people.Unlike Trump who seems more focused on drapes in a ballroom, Abdul gets mad when everyday people get exploited,�

El-Sayed finds himself in aheated three-way Democratic primaryto replace outgoing Sen.Gary Peters, D-Mich.

Voters will soon have to pick between him,fellow progressive Mallory McMorrow, a state legislator, and Rep.Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a more establishment-leaning candidate.

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Mallory McMorrow, a candidate for U.S.Senate, campaigns at the Michigan Democratic Nominating Convention.McMorrow is currently a member of the Michigan Senate.(Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

El-Sayed has positioned himself as the most leftward-leaning of the three, espousing positions such as “Medicare for all,” freecollegeeducation and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Notably, El-Sayed has attracted criticism for hisopposition to the current U.S.partnership with Israel, citing humanitarian concerns during the war in Gaza.

He’s also drawn scrutiny forcampaigning with Hasan Piker, a political commentator and media personality who has described Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, as the “lesser of two evils,” in its war with Israel and said that the U.S.“deserved 9/11.”

El-Sayed himself has clearly said he condemns all forms of religious violence.

In the wake of an attack on a synagogue in Temple Israel Michigan earlier in 2026, El-Sayed called it an act of “terrorism.”

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Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed poses for a portrait in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, Feb.21, 2026.(Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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“He was an Arab American and a Muslim.I condemn what he did.There is never a justification for attacking innocent people or houses of worship.Never,” El-Sayed said in a press release.

The Michigan Senate primary will be held Aug.4.

He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.