‘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

September 4, 2026 2:58pm EDT / Fox News

By Robert Schmad, Fox News

Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed campaigns with left-wing influencer Hasan Piker despite his history of offensive comments on 9/11 and antisemitism. Piker, known for calling America deserving of 9/11 and showing no patriotism, has a significant online following. Some Democrats fear this controversial alliance could jeopardize their chances in the crucial Michigan Senate race during the midterms, alienating swing voters.

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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.

FOX NEWS MEDIA ANNOUNCES EXTENSIVE 9/11 ANNIVERSARY COVERAGE FROM GROUND ZERO, PENTAGON AND SHANKSVILLE

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.”

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.

“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.

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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.

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.

SANDERS-BACKED DEM BLISTERED FOR MAKING ‘EXCUSES FOR TERRORISTS,’ SLAMMING ‘HIGH AND MIGHTY’ AMERICANS

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)

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.