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WASHINGTON — Michigan Senate hopeful Dr. Abdul El-Sayed scrubbed an old tweet trashing America on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as he faces mounting pressure from Democrats to disavow far-left streamer Hasan Piker.
In the now-deleted tweet, El-Sayed mourned the terrorist attack that killed nearly 3,000 and then noted that he planned to grieve the deaths he blamed on America over the wars that followed.
“Today, I mourn the 3K lives, 6K injuries, & infrastructural devastation in NYC, perpetrated ignorantly in the name of my faith,” El-Sayed wrote on Twitter, as it was then called.
“Tomorrow, I’ll mourn ~1M lives, millions of injuries, & infrastructural devastation in 3 countries, perpetrated ignorantly in the name of my country.”
That appears to be a reference to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the fighting that took place in Pakistan during the 2000s.
It’s not entirely clear when he scrubbed that tweet, which was first uncovered by the Washington Free Beacon, but has gained renewed attention as the country approaches the 25th anniversary of the attack.
A copy of the since-deleted tweet has been saved on the Wayback Machine.
“Abdul has always unequivocally condemned terrorism and the September 11 attacks,” an El-Sayed campaign told CBS News about his past remarks on 9/11. “Mike Rogers’ attempts to misrepresent Abdul’s beliefs are bad-faith lies meant to mislead Michiganders.”
The Post contacted El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.
During his campaign, El-Sayed has faced scrutiny over his ties to Piker, with whom he stumped on the final day of his Democratic primary campaign.
Piker infamously said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11,” before later, very begrudgingly, sort of conceding it was an “inappropriate” comment. He was later spotted with a framed copy of a front-page newspaper showing the Twin Towers in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack
Piker, a multimillionaire socialist, also defended the US-designated terrorist group Hezbollah, gushed over the “brave mujahideen” who injured outgoing Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), and contended that the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack was a “direct consequence” of Israeli actions. He also said that if Hamas engaged in rape, it “doesn’t change the dynamic for me.”
In the time since, Piker has tried to claim that he was joking and that critics don’t understand streaming culture.
A cacophony of Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and more, have publicly castigated Piker.
Several have gone further and called on El-Sayed, who faces one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, to do the same.
“I just want to issue a dare, continue to campaign with Hasan Piker right now. You’re in a general election now, I dare you, I dare you,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) told Fox News’ Sean Hannity earlier this month.
“Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has so far refused to condemn the words of Hasan Piker, his friend and frequent campaign surrogate,” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) said in a statement.
“It is disingenuous for El-Sayed to try and distance himself from Piker without specifically condemning, refuting, or even just rejecting Piker’s hateful rhetoric.”
El-Sayed’s primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), has also urged him to “get rid of this Hasan Piker affiliation.” His other former rival, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, previously argued that Piker is “not somebody that you should be campaigning with.”
Both Stevens and McMorrow are backing El-Sayed in his general election showdown against Republican Mike Rogers, who has highlighted the Piker connection.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) and state Sen. Jeremy Moss (D) both refrained from endorsing El-Sayed in response.
El-Sayed has tried to downplay his ties to Piker, arguing the campaign is about his policies, not a streamer from California. But he repeatedly campaigned with Piker during the primary and has refused to disavow him.
“I am not interested in a conversation about a social media person in California,” El-Sayed vented to reporters over the weekend when pressed about his ties to Piker.
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