Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, faced questions Thursday after his public campaign schedule for September 11 made no mention of any 9/11 remembrance events while listing appearances at a Mexican cultural festival, a farmers market and a county fair.
The 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States falls on September 11, 2026. As of Friday morning, El-Sayed's campaign website showed staff and volunteers assigned to Grand Rapids' Fiesta Mexicana, a nearby farmers market and the Allegan County Fair, with El-Sayed himself scheduled for his 'Shouldn't Be This Hard' tour.
What the Left Is Saying
After Fox News Digital inquired about the absence of any 9/11 commemoration on El-Sayed's public schedule, his campaign provided a response. 'The September 11th terrorist attacks were an evil attack on America's freedom and he will be joining Michiganders in remembering the 25th anniversary,' El-Sayed's campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The campaign confirmed that El-Sayed 'will be attending a 9/11 remembrance memorial event that day,' though the event was not listed among his publicly scheduled appearances. The campaign did not explain why the remembrance event had been absent from his public schedule but emphasized that El-Sayed views 9/11 as a horrific moment in American history.
El-Sayed's campaign also noted that of the four events flagged by Fox News Digital, the candidate would not be attending two of them, though they declined to specify which ones. Fiesta Mexicana describes itself as 'three days of mariachi, folklórico and forty-some vendors' celebrating Mexican culture in West Michigan.
What the Right Is Saying
Critics have questioned why no 9/11 remembrance appeared on a Senate candidate's public schedule for the anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. The scheduling oversight drew scrutiny given El-Sayed's previous controversial statements about September 11.
Old blogs and social media posts from El-Sayed have surfaced showing he equated 9/11 with January 6, 2021, and compared former President Donald Trump to Osama bin Laden on a now-private blog, according to Fox News Digital reporting. In other posts, he called for Americans to bring the same outrage to the COVID-19 pandemic that they felt for the September 11 attacks.
Earlier in the campaign, El-Sayed faced questions about his association with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who had said America 'deserved 9/11.' While El-Sayed called Piker's statement 'dumb,' he did not disavow the streamer. Republicans have pointed to these statements as evidence of poor judgment regarding one of America's most sacred commemorations.
What the Numbers Show
The public schedule listed four events for September 11, according to screenshots reviewed by Fox News Digital: Fiesta Mexicana in Grand Rapids, a farmers market appearance, the Allegan County Fair, and an event on El-Sayed's 'Shouldn't Be This Hard' tour. None were remembrance-related until after inquiry.
El-Sayed is running as the Democratic nominee against incumbent Republican Senator. The 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001.
The Fiesta Mexicana event runs for three days and features mariachi music, folklórico dance performances, and approximately 40 vendors, according to its own description. The Allegan County Fair offers live entertainment, food, games and rides during its run.
The Bottom Line
El-Sayed's campaign scrambled to clarify his plans for September 11 after the public schedule drew scrutiny on a day when many political candidates make visible appearances at memorial events. The candidate has previously faced questions about statements he made regarding the terrorist attacks in blog posts and social media from over a decade ago.
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between progressive critics of American foreign policy and traditional commemorations of September 11. El-Sayed's campaign maintains he views the attacks as an 'evil' act against American freedom, though his past writings suggesting moral equivalence between 9/11 and other events continue to surface in political discourse.
Voters in Michigan will decide the Senate race on November 5, 2026.