Rogers, el Sayed Clash on 9/11 Ahead of GOP Convention Speech

Twenty-five years on, and we are still arguing about how to talk about Sept. 11. Mike Rogers says he wants to center his convention speech on the anniversary. Abdul el Sayed is already swinging back, and now the whole thing is turning into a pre-bunked cage match before anyone has even stepped to the microphone. If your first instinct is to weaponize 9/11, you are telling voters something about yourself.

Rogers has a point in treating the day as more than a ceremonial moment. It was an attack on Americans, on our way of life, and on a country that was too complacent about real threats. But a convention stage is also a political stage. That means the speaker has to be careful not to sound like he is renting out the grief for applause. Honor is in the details and the restraint, not the decibels.

El Sayed, meanwhile, is doing what Democrats often do in these moments: acting like any hard talk about terrorism or national security is code for something darker. Maybe he will say Rogers is “divisive.” Maybe he will hint that focusing on 9/11 is a distraction from today’s issues. But for families who still carry this loss, and for voters who watched a nation change overnight, it is not a gimmick. The left’s habit is to police the tone, then dodge the substance.

Here’s the simple test for Friday: does Rogers use the anniversary to explain what we learned, what we failed to fix, and what the country still needs from its leaders, including secure borders and a serious posture abroad? Or does it become a highlight reel of punch lines aimed at el Sayed? We can handle politics. We cannot stand the phony stuff. If the Democrats want to criticize, fine. But they should do it honestly, and not pretend remembering 9/11 is somehow suspect.