The father of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has fired back at Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, after El-Sayed claimed on a podcast that Hegseth was a high school benchwarmer propped up by overly doting parents.
In an interview with comedian Hasan Minhaj released October 28, El-Sayed was asked about having captained three varsity sports teams. He used the moment to take aim at Hegseth. “Pete Hegseth, everybody knows that guy from the locker room,” he said. “He would’ve rode the pine. He probably got to start two games his entire career playing whatever sport he was, and it made his life. And his parents came and cheered so hard for him.”
El-Sayed went on to mock Hegseth’s mother. “The very fact that he made the team, his mom was making cake, she was wearing his jersey, she had a cap made for him. You know the type,” he said. “Bro, you grew up thinking that you were special, but you are not. And you have been living off that fume for the rest of your life.”
He contrasted that with his own upbringing. El-Sayed said his parents never came to his games even though he started every one, and described “being a brown kid” whose parents taught him that “no matter what you do, you’re never enough.”
Brian Hegseth, a longtime high school basketball coach who coached his son, responded on X. “Little man syndrome; Abdul has no idea what he’s talking about,” he wrote. “Proud to say, as Pete’s dad, he was an absolute star on the court in HS. Captain, all-conference, all-state player…earned! We parents cheered him on, yes. That’s what families do — support each other.” He tagged the post #Envy.
Hegseth’s record backs his father up. At Forest Lake Area High School in Minnesota, he played football and was the basketball team’s point guard. He set school records for career three-pointers, single-season three-pointers and single-season three-point percentage, was twice named all-conference, and earned all-state honors as a senior. He graduated as valedictorian in 1999 and was later inducted into the school’s hall of fame.
He went on to play four years of varsity basketball at Princeton, including the 2001 NCAA tournament. In one of his best moments, as a senior in 2003, he hit two three-pointers and assisted on the game-winning basket in a 44-40 win over Columbia.
El-Sayed, 42, played club lacrosse at the University of Michigan.
The clip went viral, drawing responses from Elon Musk and rapper Nicki Minaj. Minaj accused El-Sayed of misplacing anger at his own parents.
The “little man syndrome” jab has dogged El-Sayed before. In August, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said El-Sayed had “a weird little man syndrome energy, just going around insulting people.”
El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in Tuesday’s election.
