“They didn\u2019t just attack America that day they attacked the idea of America,” El-Sayed said<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The notion of a nation brought together by ideals \u2014 a place where freedom and commitment to justice bind us, even if, at times, we struggle to fully realize it,” the controversial far-left candidate continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Today on 9\/11 we remember the lives that were taken from us in a terrible act of terrorism.”<\/p>\n CBS NEWS TAKES HEAT OVER REPORT ON DEM HOPEFUL ABDUL EL-SAYED’S NOW-DELETED 9\/11 POSTS<\/a><\/p>\n Hasan Piker, left, listens as Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks in a green room before a campaign rally April 7, 2026, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n Online viewers quickly reminded El-Sayed of his friendship with Hasan Piker<\/a>, the progressive streamer who has gone viral multiple times for previously claiming that the U.S. “deserved 9\/11.”<\/p>\n “Shut up, you FRAUD,” the Libs of TikTok, a conservative X account that focuses on key social and cultural issues, said in a post<\/a> Friday.<\/p>\n Steve Guest, a frequent political commentator and a former staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz<\/a>, R-Texas, echoed the criticism in a post of his own, posting a picture of Piker and El-Sayed standing together.<\/p>\n “This you?” Guest wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n He also included a caption on the photo with another one of Piker\u2019s quotes.<\/p>\n “\u2018I hate America\u2026 at least I say it with my f—ing chest,\u2019” the picture\u2019s caption read.<\/p>\n “Campaigning with a guy who said we deserved 9\/11\u2026 his brazen dishonesty makes him all the bigger piece of s—,” GOP consultant Ryan Girdusky posted on X.<\/a><\/p>\n “You\u2019re a disgrace. You remain unwilling to disavow your chief spokesman who said “America deserved 9\/11,” National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Joanna Rodriguez posted on X.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n “You belittled the American lives lost year after year while giving excuses and showing sympathy for terrorists.”<\/p>\n “Good job reading from that script buddy,” GOP digital strategist Mike Hahn wrote on X.<\/a><\/p>\n Joey Mannarino, the co-founder of the Overton Institute, a right-wing media group, expressed surprise that El-Sayed had gained any kind of momentum in his campaign for Senate.<\/p>\n EL-SAYED TORCHED ONLINE AFTER BRUSHING OFF QUESTIONS ABOUT HASAN PIKER CAMPAIGN TIES: \u2018WHAT A PAL\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Hasan Piker during an interview at a New Jersey protest. (Michael Dorgan)<\/p>\n “How in God\u2019s name is Abdul El-Sayed even close to winning this race? The man campaigns with people who say America deserved 9\/11. He is a radical Islamist extremist if I\u2019ve ever seen one. And this is who Michigan wants to put in the Senate?” Mannarino wrote.<\/p>\n In the past, El-Sayed has made statements noting he doesn\u2019t share all of Piker’s views.<\/p>\n “But I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokesperson,” El-Sayed said after Piker called Israel a “Jewish ISIS.”<\/p>\n “And while politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we\u2019re going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools and healthcare. Because that\u2019s what Michiganders keep asking about.”<\/p>\n Chuck Ross, an investigative reporter with The Washington Free Beacon, noted that El-Sayed\u2019s post didn\u2019t focus on the wars that followed 9\/11,<\/a> a topic El-Sayed has frequently invoked when speaking about the terror attack.<\/p>\n “El-Sayed, reading off a teleprompter, gives a statement about 9\/11. This time he sticks to just 9\/11 and not the \u2018War on Terror\u2019 aftermath that he usually mentions in his 9\/11 anniversary posts,” Ross wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n In the past, El-Sayed has held up the war on terror<\/a> as an example of military aggression, using it as Israel prepared to strike Gaza back in October 2023.<\/p>\n ABDUL EL-SAYED SAYS RALLYING WITH HASAN PIKER DOESN’T MEAN HE ENDORSES ‘AMERICA DESERVED 9\/11’ REMARK<\/a><\/p>\n Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a primary election night event Aug. 5, 2026, at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n “The President\u2019s visit to Israel as it plans a major escalation & invasion of Gaza is already being held up as an endorsement of the violence being unleashed on innocent Palestinians. I can\u2019t help but hear echoes of 9\/11. When do we learn that more violence doesn\u2019t fix violence?” El-Sayed wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Hasan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/michigan-dem-el-sayed-piker.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Hasan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1hasan.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Michigan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Abdul-El-Sayed-Detroit-Michigan-August-5_-2026_001.jpg\")
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