# Bill Maher Fact-Checks Kid Rock After He Compares Abdul El-Sayed to 9/11 Hijackers on ‘Real Time’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/bill-maher-fact-checks-kid-rock-after-he-compares-abdul-el-sayed-to-9-11-hijackers-on-real-time/
- Published: 2026-10-31T03:13:17+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T04:24:14+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/kid-rock-abdul-el-sayed-9-11-hijackers-real-time-bill-maher-1236935914/
- Topics: Business, Geopolitics, Government, Markets, Politics

## Key points

- Kid Rock compared Abdul El-Sayed to the 9/11 hijackers.
- Maher corrected Rock on the hijackers’ origins.
- Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi.

## Summary

Bill Maher challenged musician Kid Rock after Rock compared Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, with the 9/11 hijackers. The exchange came during a discussion about Islam and American politics, in which Maher said the political left was naïve and the right hysterical; it highlighted how fears about extremism can be applied to Muslim candidates.

Rock argued that El-Sayed’s education and ability to fit into American society did not rule out a risk of extremism. Maher replied that the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and Rock disputed him. Of the 19 hijackers, 15 were Saudi, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon; the first arrived in the United States in January 2000.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.