A CBS News story digging up a Michigan Senate candidate's old 9/11 posts has backfired, drawing accusations of anti-Muslim bias — bad for CBS's credibility, and a warning sign for Democrats about how they treat their own nominee.

• CBS ran a piece framing deleted posts by Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, as scandalous ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
• The posts said little more than that the country should fight COVID and poverty the way it fought the war on terror — a point many public figures made at the time.
• Reporters across the spectrum, including critics outside the left, called the framing bigoted and thin.
• El-Sayed then apologized to a Jewish Democratic group in suburban Detroit over separate remarks about a synagogue attack, a move seen as caving to pressure he should have resisted.
• The bigger story is Michigan Democrats withholding support, which lets his Republican opponent Mike Rogers argue something must be wrong with him.

Outlook: Expect more attacks on El-Sayed from both parties as the Michigan Senate race heats up, with his standing hinging on whether the Democratic establishment gets behind him.