FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept 1, 2026
Contact: Alyvia Bailey
alyvia@johnjamesmi.com
JOHN JAMES WARNS OF EXTREME BENSON–EL-SAYED TICKET; CBS HOST: “LET’S PUT THAT ASIDE”
Face the Nation’s Margaret Brennan falsely claimed the Benson–El-Sayed ticket was distancing from Hasan Piker’s “America deserved 9/11” comments despite the continued refusal to disavow him.
SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI — During a Sunday appearance on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Republican nominee for Governor John James warned about Michigan’s extreme Benson–El-Sayed ticket, pointing to Jocelyn Benson’s alignment with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and his repeated appearances with extremist Hasan Piker.
Rather than dig into James’ warning, host Margaret Brennan softened the extremism and quickly moved on.
Click here to watch the full August 30 interview.
James raised the issue after warning that Michigan is facing “the most extreme ticket” and noting that the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks is approaching.
“They’re campaigning with extremists who say that America deserved 9/11. And I think that coming up on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, these are statements that are way out of bounds and should definitely be clarified.”
— John James
Brennan responded by telling viewers that Abdul El-Sayed had “started to distance himself” from Piker, before shutting down the discussion altogether: “Let’s put that aside because I don’t want to get into that.”
Fact Check
El-Sayed has repeatedly resisted calls to disavow Piker himself. When directly asked whether he would renounce Piker, who appeared alongside him multiple times on the campaign trail, El-Sayed declined to answer.
And meanwhile, Jocelyn Benson has publicly thrown her support behind him and the Democratic ticket. Following the primary, Benson made clear she fully supports Abdul El-Sayed and that Michigan Democrats would be “all working together” toward November.
The media may want to “put aside” questions about Michigan’s extreme Democratic ticket, but John James won’t.
The contrast in Michigan is increasingly clear: James is campaigning on his record and a common-sense agenda focused on safer streets, better schools, and putting more money back in Michiganders’ pockets, while Benson has thrown her full support behind a Democratic ticket that includes El-Sayed and his continued extremism that worsens every day.
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