In the context of regular American men, and not Muslim Brotherhood fanboys Abdul El-Sayed usually hangs out with, the punchy twerp is “that guy.”
To be sure, this is totally a “guy” thing. El-Sayed is the type of person in your circle who, if you’re planning a night out with the gang, is the last one you call, and you hope that by then he’s made other plans.
He’s the type who, every time he shows up, is likely to create one cringe moment after another. If he talks, he talks too much. If he brags, he brags too much. If he argues, he argues too much. You’d have to explain him to other people, sometimes apologize for him, but usually if you’re stuck in the group with him, you try to distance yourself from him. You try to send the “I’m not with him” vibe.
If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, El-Sayed has given us plenty of examples. To be sure, it’s not the policy or the issue that makes him “that guy”; it’s his whole demeanor and manner.
Exhibit A is an innocent pickup basketball game caught on video, presumably among El-Sayed and some friends. The two instances here that reinforce his “that guy” persona aren’t the air balls. They’re the ones that come at the 32- and 40-second timestamps on the clip below.
Abdul El-Sayed puts on an absolute MASTERCLASS in how to hit AIRBALL AFTER AIRBALL alongside Hasan Piker! 🏀 The rim has never been safer. Somebody get this man an NBA contract. Dubai Basketball Club is watching. 💀 https://t.co/0IiZqUNFX5
— Def Noodles (@defnoodlesreal) November 1, 2026
Once most men reach adulthood, if they play some basketball, there are usually two priorities that prevent them from making asses of themselves on the court: first, they know they have to go to work on Monday. They don’t want to be the proverbial “bull in a china shop” and get themselves or others hurt. Second, they don’t want to spend the rest of the day at the ER waiting for X-rays. And so, they make the intentional decision not to treat every loose ball like a fumble recovery in the Super Bowl.
In this one clip, you get to see El-Sayed eat hardwood in one case and just roll on the floor for another loose ball—recklessly in both cases. If you have “that guy” in your life, this is likely what he does on the court. Someone always needs to remind this type that high school is over and that it’s time to grow up, but no one does. They don’t want to deal with him any more than they have to.
This montage, in El-Sayed’s own words, reinforces the idea that he’s by nature a very aggressive person with anger issues, which he seems to reference as a point of pride and character, all in a way that only “that guy” would.
Abdul El-Sayed exposes his violent side. When criticized, his rhetoric turns aggressive. “I was also the kid in AP classes who got suspended for fighting.” “Choke them out!” “Get his ass whopped by a guy who prays like I do.” When they tell you who they are, believe them. WATCH.
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) October 26, 2026
In the past few months, while I knew I didn’t like any of El-Sayed’s positions on issues and policies, his ideology, his leftism, his wokism, and even his dancing to Taylor Swift songs, there was something about him that turned me off at a more visceral level. This only became clear to me while watching the video of him playing basketball. Once I saw it for what it was and recognized it for what it is, it hit me that a lot of regular guys aren’t going to vote for El-Sayed because he comes across as a guy they really would not want to hang out with.
The left and the El-Sayed campaign consultants have tried to manufacture this “regular guy” persona, or this man’s man persona, because El-Sayed lifts weights and can be gruff and irritable. But that’s not the sort of regular guy that actual regular guys want to be around. He’s the type they try to avoid.
This is the male version of something Rush Limbaugh once said about Hillary Clinton and electability.
On Dec. 14, 2015, Rush said, “She’s not a great campaigner. The truth of the matter is that Hillary Clinton’s greatest liability is her own voice. The more she speaks, the worse her numbers get. That’s why there aren’t any Democrat debates, and the ones that are held are on Saturday when nobody watches. They all know it. She’s not this inevitable, unbeatable person that everybody or way too many people seem to think that she is.”
Related to this, I remember (but could not find the exact quote) when Rush also once said that one of the reasons most men wouldn’t vote for Hillary is that they just don’t want to go through four years of hearing that voice on the radio or TV every damn day.
In the end, it all comes down to how much men can stand listening to or watching their elected officials, and whether they feel like “being around” them. Come across as too grating, and a lot of men won’t vote, or they will vote for the other candidate whom they can tolerate better.
Given the way El-Sayed has been campaigning, I sense that the internal polling has to show a virtual tie, or that he’s behind. The one thing I’m confident about at this final hour of the election cycle is that he’s not ahead of Republican Mike Rogers.
Since Michigan’s secretary of state is Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, I have my doubts about how secure the ballot-counting process will be in that state tomorrow night. But if it’s kept in check by the Republicans, I’m going out on a limb to predict Rogers will at least dominate the voting bloc of regular men. If enough Michigan men vote tomorrow, that’s good news for Rogers.
In his closing argument for the voters, El-Sayed gave us yet another video clip to reinforce that, no matter what he does, he’ll never be a welcome figure among regular guys. He’ll always just be “that guy.”
"My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. That name is just as American as Mike or Donald or whatever JD stands for." He’s mocking us https://t.co/jrW4s1D9ym
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 2, 2026