‘Fiesta Mexicana’: El-Sayed campaign plans festive 9/11 while remembrance is missing from public schedule
The Michigan Senate nominee's public calendar lists festive outreach events but no visible remembrance memorial
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While Americans prepare to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Abdul El-Sayed’s public campaign schedule for that day makes no mention of a remembrance event, but includes a Mexican festival, a farmers market and a county fair.
As of Friday morning, El-Sayed’s campaign website listed staff and volunteers for Grand Rapids’ Fiesta Mexicana, a nearby farmers market and the Allegan County Fair, while El-Sayed himself was scheduled to make a stop on his "Shouldn’t Be This Hard" tour.
After Fox News Digital asked about the lack of a 9/11 remembrance on the public schedule, El-Sayed’s campaign said the Democrat nominee "will be attending a 9/11 remembrance memorial event that day," though the event was not listed on his campaign website.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a primary election night event Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
The events listed on the campaign schedule have a notably more festive tone.
Fiesta Mexicana, for instance, describes itself as "three days of mariachi, folklórico and forty-some vendors" that uses "music, food, dance and good company" to "make sure Mexican culture is known, understood and celebrated in West Michigan — on our own terms." El-Sayed’s campaign instructs supporters to "bring some Mexican swag" and "go inside to enjoy the music and get some food."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Allegan County Fair, meanwhile, features live entertainment, food, games and rides.
El-Sayed’s campaign pointed out, that of the four events flagged by Fox News Digital — Fiesta Mexicana, the farmers market, the county fair and the candidate’s tour event — the Senate candidate would not be attending two of them, though would not specify which ones.
The campaign did not explain why El-Sayed's website did not list the 9/11 remembrance memorial event on his list of upcoming events but it did underscore in comment to Fox News Digital that El-Sayed views 9/11 as a horrific moment in history.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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 spokeswoman told Fox News Digital.
BIDEN-WORLD VETERAN ISSUES STARK WARNING ABOUT ABDUL EL-SAYED AS HE CROSSES PARTY LINES
US Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan Abdul El-Sayed speaks with reporters during a Student Meet and Greet at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on August 26, 2026. (JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images)
The Michigan Senate hopeful has a complicated relationship with 9/11.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, whom El-Sayed had campaigned alongside, caused him a headache early in the campaign when a clip of the streamer saying that America "deserved 9/11" resurfaced. El-Sayed called the statement "dumb," though did not disavow Piker.
Later, old blogs and social media posts where El-Sayed made controversial statements about the terrorist attacks began to surface.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, films a social media video at a pool party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital previously reported that El-Sayed equated 9/11 with Jan. 6 and President Donald Trump with Osama bin Laden on a now private blog. In social media posts, he called on Americans to bring the same outrage to the COVID-19 pandemic that they felt for 9/11 and mourned the deaths of those killed in America’s War on Terror.