CBS News Draws Progressive Backlash Over Report on Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed's Past 9/11 Posts

A recent report by CBS News concerning historical social media remarks by Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, has drawn significant criticism from progressive commentators and political figures. The report surfaced as the nation approaches the 25th commemoration of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Controversial Report Details Past Remarks

The network's article indicated that as the United States prepares to observe the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, El-Sayed, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, could encounter renewed examination and political challenges related to his past statements.

The CBS report highlighted social media posts from El-Sayed that have since been removed. These included comments from 2020 where he drew a comparison between the approximately 3,000 lives lost in the 9/11 attacks and the fatalities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Another post, dated September 11, 2021, and initially brought to light by The Washington Free Beacon, expressed:

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.

Widespread Criticism from Progressive Voices

This report, however, prompted a wave of indignation from many of El-Sayed's proponents and other left-leaning commentators, who found the timing and content of the article, particularly its connection of El-Sayed to the upcoming 9/11 anniversary, objectionable.

Progressive commentator Hasan Piker posted on X, describing the headline as