THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is drawing attention for remarks about stereotypes associated with Arab and Muslim men.
- End Wokeness circulated a clip characterized as El-Sayed distancing himself from a fictional “gas station Abdul” who mistreats Black customers and catcalls women.
- X users immediately turned the phrase into a running joke, questioning why El-Sayed would invoke such a stereotype.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is trying to introduce himself to voters.
Unfortunately, social media is now talking about another Abdul entirely.
Meet “gas station Abdul.”
Abdul El-Sayed is running for Senate in Michigan, and his pitch to Black voters in Detroit is that guys who look like him and have names like his are the ones talking down to them from behind the bulletproof glass at the gas station. Basically, trust me, I’m one of the good ones. Nothing says ready for the U.S. Senate like throwing your own people under the bus for a few votes. If a Republican said that about any group, CNN would run it for a month straight.
via @EndWokeness
— Paul of Legally Armed America (@Paul_of_LAA) October 20, 2026
That’s the phrase at the center of a viral clip circulated Tuesday by the conservative X account End Wokeness, which highlighted El-Sayed discussing stereotypes some Black voters may associate with Arab and Muslim men.
The account described his message this way: “Abdul El-Sayed to black voters: I am not like your ‘gas station Abdul’ who hates blacks, catcalls women.”
And just like that, a political outreach discussion became an unexpected debate about the fictional personnel roster of America’s convenience stores.
El-Sayed, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, was apparently trying to address perceptions and prejudices that could complicate his appeal to Black voters.
But the language featured in the clip gave conservative X users something entirely different to discuss.
Kevin Brady focused on the implications of the comparison: “So now he trashes his ‘brothers’ who are…gas station Abdul’s. With friends like that…”
That reaction captured the main criticism running through the responses: Why would a candidate concerned about stereotypes invoke one that paints another Arab or Muslim man as hostile toward Black customers and disrespectful toward women?
It’s an especially curious campaign sound bite because El-Sayed has been outspoken about the suspicion and prejudice he believes Muslim Americans encounter in politics.
El-Sayed has already been involved in another contentious exchange over his Muslim identity. At a recent town hall, he was asked whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood and responded that he would, while challenging the assumption behind the question.
That confrontation centered on the suspicion directed at Muslim candidates.
This one centers on the stereotype El-Sayed himself invoked while discussing how voters might perceive him.
And the social media response has taken on a life of its own.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- Twitchy — Not THAT Kind of Abdul: El-Sayed’s remarks spark X backlash
- End Wokeness — Viral clip and original X discussion
- Twitchy — El-Sayed’s appearance at a Black church draws online reactions
- The Midwesterner — Earlier controversy involving El-Sayed’s account of a gas station encounter
