The facts
Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, posted a Friday video calling 9/11 a "cruel act of terror" that killed more than 3,000 people, including first responders. "Nothing can justify the murder of innocent civilians. Nothing," he said. He asked a campaign crowd for a moment of silence.
CBS and the New York Post documented a Sept. 11, 2021 post, later deleted: "Today, I mourn the 3K lives, 6K injuries, & infrastructural devastation in NYC, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my faith. Tomorrow, I'll mourn ~1M lives, millions of injuries, & infrastructural devastation in 3 countries, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my country." His campaign told Politico he wiped posts older than July 2023 "to prevent any old posts from being taken out of context."
In 2021 he also said on his podcast, "9/11 scarred our country in profound ways, but what we did after 9/11 scarred millions of other people. When we talk about 9/11, we often fail to center them." GOP rival Mike Rogers, backed by Trump, called that disqualifying and said El-Sayed "separated himself from Team America." El-Sayed's spokesman noted Rogers voted against 9/11 responder healthcare.
El-Sayed campaigned with streamer Hasan Piker, who in 2019 said "America deserved 9/11." El-Sayed called that "dumb" on Meet the Press and said Piker would too. He has not dumped him. Last Saturday he spoke at an ISNA convention in Detroit that the Post said also featured figures who have questioned the government's 9/11 account. Tucker Carlson today said El-Sayed's 2021 war comments were "obviously right."
Our take
On the 25th anniversary he found the script: cruel terror, first responders, moment of silence. The 2021 version is still in the Wayback Machine. Day one, mourn the 3,000. Day two, mourn a million in America's name. That is not a eulogy. That is a spreadsheet where the hijackers get a round and then the country that got hit has to wait its turn.
He can hate the Iraq war. Rogers voting against responder care is a real vote, and El-Sayed is allowed to beat him with it. None of that requires a deleted tweet that treats 9/11 as the opening act for America's body count. Hasan Piker said America deserved the planes. El-Sayed says that's dumb and keeps the friendship. You do not get to run for Senate as the serious Muslim who condemns terror and keep the guy who said we had it coming. The video is for people who did not read the archive. The archive is the candidate.
