‘Fiesta Mexicana’: El-Sayed campaign plans festive 9/11 while remembrance is missing from public schedule
The campaign of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has come under scrutiny after Fox News Digital found no 9/11 remembrance event listed on his public schedule for the 25th anniversary, with the site instead promoting his attendance at a Mexican festival, a farmers market and a county fair. The discrepancy matters because El-Sayed has faced repeated questions over his past comments on the terrorist attacks, and the episode has reignited criticism of his stance on the anniversary at a time when it is receiving heightened national attention.
After being questioned, El-Sayed's campaign said he would in fact attend a 9/11 remembrance memorial that day, though it remained absent from his website, and it declined to say which of the listed festive events he would skip. His spokeswoman said he viewed the attacks as "an evil attack on America's freedom." The row follows earlier controversies, including his past association with streamer Hasan Piker, who said America "deserved 9/11," and resurfaced blog posts in which El-Sayed reportedly compared 9/11 to the 6 January Capitol riot and likened Donald Trump to Osama bin Laden.
In short
- El-Sayed's 9/11 public schedule listed a festival, not a memorial event
- Campaign later said he'd attend a remembrance, unlisted on his site
- Past comments comparing 9/11 to Jan 6 have drawn renewed criticism
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Critics can reasonably argue that a candidate seeking national office should make clear, through both words and public plans, that he will mark the anniversary of an attack that killed thousands. Given the reported past comments and associations, the omission from his schedule could deepen doubts about his judgement and sensitivity, even if his campaign later confirmed he would attend a memorial.
The case against
The campaign can reasonably argue that the missing listing does not show that El-Sayed intended to disregard the victims: it said he would attend a remembrance and described the attacks as evil. A candidate may also attend community events, and his reported comparisons of political violence need not mean he equates their scale or excuses the attacks; scrutiny should distinguish his own stated views from a third party’s remarks.
Explained simply
Abdul El-Sayed is a Michigan politician running for the US Senate, one of two senators who represent each state in Congress. Candidates often publish public schedules so voters can see where they plan to appear. The 11 September attacks were a series of terrorist hijackings in 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States; memorial events are held each year.
El-Sayed’s campaign has previously faced questions about his comments on the attacks and his association with online streamer Hasan Piker, who made a controversial remark about 9/11. The latest dispute has renewed attention to those issues and to how candidates discuss a day of national remembrance.
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