Nicki Minaj has weighed in on a viral podcast moment involving Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The rapper said El-Sayed’s frustration is really aimed at his own parents, not at white people, and told him to “mend his heart” before running for office. Elon Musk backed her view with a short reply, and Brian Hegseth, Pete’s father, also responded with a pointed message of his own.
What El-Sayed Said About Hegseth’s Parents
The comments came from an interview on comedian Hasan Minhaj‘s podcast, “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know,” released on October 28, 2026. El-Sayed, a former public health official running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, spoke about the support Hegseth received from his parents during his high school sports career. He contrasted that with his own experience growing up as a “brown kid” whose parents, he said, made him feel like he was never enough.
El-Sayed described Hegseth as the kind of high school athlete who sat on the bench. “He would have rode the pine,” El-Sayed said, using sports slang for riding the bench. “He probably got to start two games his entire career playing whatever sport it was, and his parents came and cheered so hard for him.”
He then painted a picture of Hegseth’s mother baking a cake, wearing her son’s jersey, and having a cap made for him. “You know the type,” El-Sayed said. “So I’m like, bro, you grew up thinking that you were somehow special, but you are not. And you have been living off that fume for the rest of your life.”
El-Sayed also reflected on his own upbringing. “There’s something about being a brown kid whose parents, like, you know, no matter what you do, you’re never enough,” he said. “So what that means is that you never take yourself too seriously.”
The Clip That Spread Online
Australian activist Drew Pavlou shared a clip of the interview on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Pavlou’s caption read: “Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rants about how white kids had it better than him when he was a kid.” The post drew more than 400,000 views within hours according to one report, and conservative commentators picked it up quickly.
One point of accuracy matters here. El-Sayed did not use the phrase “white kids” in the clip itself. He spoke about “brown kids” and about Hegseth, whose parents are white. The racial framing of the clip came from Pavlou’s caption, not from El-Sayed’s words. That distinction has been noted in several reports covering the exchange.
Nicki Minaj’s Response to El-Sayed
Nicki Minaj posted her reaction on X on Saturday, October 31, 2026. She shared the clip and wrote a detailed response arguing that El-Sayed’s anger was pointed in the wrong direction.
“If you listen carefully it’s a misplaced anger at his own parents for not making him feel worthy that turned into raging jealousy of other children who had parents that lifted them up and poured into them. He’s projected all of that onto white people. He needs to mend his heart before thinking about running for any office. White ppl haven’t hurt him. He knows exactly who did.”
Minaj also highlighted how Minhaj responded in the interview. She pointed out that the host did not validate El-Sayed’s framing and instead moved the conversation toward campaign strategy. “Notice how he doesn’t get the satisfaction he was craving when the interviewer simply anchors himself & doesn’t validate that experience,” she wrote. “We should all do more of this. Don’t validate anyone’s experience for the sake of temporary bonding.”
Minaj has become one of the most visible celebrity supporters of Donald Trump and Republican candidates during the 2026 midterm campaign. She appeared alongside Trump at a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on October 25, 2026, where she urged voters to support the Republican ticket. Days before that, she had also criticized New York Governor Kathy Hochul in a series of posts on X.
Elon Musk and Brian Hegseth Join the Conversation
Elon Musk replied directly to Minaj’s post with two words: “Well said.” On the original clip shared by Pavlou, Musk had also written: “He hates White people.”
Brian Hegseth, Pete Hegseth’s father and a high school basketball coach, responded to El-Sayed’s remarks on October 30, 2026. He accused El-Sayed of having “little man syndrome” and defended his son’s athletic record.
“Little man syndrome. Abdul has no idea what he’s talking about. 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. #Envy makes him bitter.”
The Facts About Hegseth’s Athletic Record
El-Sayed’s description of Hegseth as a benchwarmer does not match the public record. Pete Hegseth was an all-state basketball player at Forest Lake Area High School in Minnesota. He was twice named all-conference and earned all-state honors as a senior. He set school records for career three-pointers, single-season threes, and single-season shooting percentage, and he was the class valedictorian. His high school inducted him into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
Hegseth went on to play college basketball at Princeton University. He earned varsity letters during all four years and appeared in both NCAA and NIT tournaments. He graduated from Princeton in 2003 with a degree in politics. He was known as a reserve player who contributed in key moments, including a 2003 game against Columbia where he hit two three-pointers and helped seal a win.
El-Sayed, for his part, played club lacrosse at the University of Michigan. He has spoken on the campaign trail about being captain of his high school football team. A 2006 club lacrosse stat line shows zero points and zero assists across 15 appearances, according to one report, though club sports records are not directly comparable to varsity college athletics.
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The Political Backdrop of the Exchange
The exchange comes just days before the November 3, 2026 midterm elections. El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. The seat is open because Democratic Senator Gary Peters is retiring, and the outcome could help decide which party controls the Senate.
A Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll conducted October 19–22, 2026 showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by about 6 percentage points, with El-Sayed at 51.4% and Rogers at 45.1%. Among voters who said they definitely plan to vote, El-Sayed’s lead narrowed to about 4.2 percentage points.
Sports has become an unexpected theme in the race. Both El-Sayed and Rogers have highlighted their athletic backgrounds, and Rogers has criticized El-Sayed over a 2021 essay that referenced football and “toxic masculinity.” The podcast remarks added a new layer to that back-and-forth.
El-Sayed has not publicly responded to Minaj’s post. His campaign has focused on economic issues, health care costs, and tying Rogers to Trump throughout the closing weeks of the race.
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