Weekly Roundup: 9/11, Mamdani, and MAGA's Holy War (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Brad breaks down Donald Trump’s false claims about his experience that day, Rudy Giuliani’s attacks on Mayor Zohran Mamdani for attending the memorial as a Muslim, and newly released documents showing NYC officials knew Ground Zero air was toxic but told the public otherwise.

Then Brad welcomes former CIA officer Holly Berkley Fletcher to unpack how the “national malaise” of the 1990s — after the Cold War ended and the country turned inward — set the stage for 9/11 to be reframed not as a fight against a terrorist group, but as a civilizational battle against Islam itself. They trace how that shift accelerated Christian nationalism, fractured America’s foreign policy consensus, and set the country on a path that runs through the Iraq War, January 6th, and the rise of MAGA Christianity today.
Interview: 

https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/911-and-holy-war

Trump’s top six falsehoods about 9/11 as 25th anniversary nears

US president often brings up al-Qaida attack that struck his home town New York City almost 25 years ago…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/09/trump-911-falsehoods 

 

‘Institutional neglect’: 25 years on from 9/11, experts sound alarm over US counter-terror efforts

Budget cuts, loss of knowledgeable officials and diverted resources raise risk of another attack, experts warn…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/10/9-11-us-counter-terrorism-intelligence-trump-administration 

 

Ground Zero construction crews, firefighter hoist: Fact-checking Trump’s 9/11 response stories – PolitiFact

Richard Alles, who was a New York Fire Department battalion chief at the time, told PolitiFact in 2019 that he had no knowledge of Trump being at Ground Zero, or bringing 100 or more workers to help. 

“There would be a record of it,” Alles said. “Everybody worked under direct supervision of the police and fire department and the joint commander for emergency services. Is there a chance he was ever down there by himself and I didn’t know it? It’s possible, but I know of no one who ever witnessed him there.”..

 https://politifact.com/article/2026/sep/08/donald-trump-9-11-response-firemen-ground-zero/

 

Watch Trump Falsely Suggest He Was Pulled from Ground Zero on 9/11 – Mother Jones

“We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big strong guys… they grabbed me under the arms, said, ‘got to get out of here!’ and they literally lifted me up… and they started running with me,” the president said in a rambling speech at a memorial ceremony near the White House on Tuesday morning...

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-september-11-video-ground-zero/ 

 

Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers says he saw Bin Laden’s body with his ‘own eyes’. He did not

A New York Times fact check pointed out that the second part of Rogers’s “incendiary statement” was false: it was not El-Sayed, but one of his supporters, the Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once said that the US deserved 9/11, before retracting and apologizing for that statement seven years before he endorsed El-Sayed. 

 For his part, El-Sayed has clearly denounced the 9/11 attacks for years. In a recollection of that day written in 2021, El-Sayed wrote: “

I watched terrorists with names like mine attack my country in the name of my faith. Three thousand of my fellow Americans were killed in the craven terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. The attack devastated me.”

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/29/michigan-senate-candidate-mike-rogers-osama-bin-laden

 

In Michigan Senate race, Mike Rogers falsely ties Abdul El-Sayed to Twitch streamer’s 9/11 comments – PolitiFact

Influencer and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker said “America deserved 9/11” in a 2019 livestream, and later walked back the comment. 

Abdul El-Sayed campaigned with Piker in April. El-Sayed said in an interview just before the campaign events that he does not believe 9/11 was justified...

 https://politifact.com/factchecks/2026/aug/07/mike-rogers/abdul-el-sayed-9-11-hasan-piker-michigan/ 

Peter Thiel’s Gospel Part II: Palantir and the Philosopher-King (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Dr. Brad Onishi dives into the ideological roots of one of Peter Thiel’s most significant ventures, Palantir. Drawing from Thiel’s reflections on Leo Strauss’s philosophy and the aftermath of 9/11, Onishi explores how Palantir embodies a tech-driven strategy for national defense. The discussion extends to Thiel’s collaborations with figures like Alex Karp and how their collective efforts align with a vision of Western superiority, national security, and technological dominance. This episode also touches on the broader implications of Palantir’s integration into U.S. government and surveillance, raising crucial questions about civil liberties and geopolitical strategies.

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/peter-thiels-gospel-part-ii-palantir-and-the-philosopher-king/

Robert F Kennedy Jr promises to not ‘take sides’ with respect to 9/11 if elected president

In addition to his 9/11 skepticism, peddling falsehoods about Covid-19 and vaccine safety has seemingly undermined Kennedy's effort to attract wider support. And so have outlandish claims such as linking antidepressants to school shootings and asserting that certain chemicals in water make children transgender...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/05/robert-f-kennedy-jr-september-11

Weekly Roundup: How 9/11 Accelerated Christian Nationalism (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad begins by tracing the extreme Christian nationalism of the 2020s to the years following 9/11. The thesis: the ways that Republican politicians and conservative pastors responded to 9/11 led to a new chapter of American Christian nationalism.

Dan then picks up the thread to discuss how Black churches and other groups are teaching Black history in Florida given the fact that it is being left out of school curricula in the state.

The episode finishes with an extended discussion of the lapsed child tax credit – and what it says about our country’s morals and priorities.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-how-9-11-accelerated-christian-nationalism/

Vivek Ramaswamy caught LYING on national TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUEzCheNDUk 

Vivek Ramaswamy’s 9/11 comments face scrutiny after CNN appearance - POLITICO

The GOP presidential candidate claimed that an Atlantic article misquoted him. But then the publication released the interview audio...

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/22/ramaswamy-scrutiny-9-11-00112302

TRUTHR - The Dating App for 9/11 Truthers

https://youtu.be/_LRf1PalFbA

9/11

There has been a tradition where political ads are pulled down on 9/11. But never before have we had a president who attacked the men and women who rose to defend our country, calling them suckers and losers. This ad is necessary to remind Americans of the character of Trump.
https://youtu.be/-KLyOuWAzns

Damage Caused by Bloomberg's Opposition to 9/11 Terror Trials in NYC Is 'Hard to Overestimate,' National Security Expert Says

Democratic Party presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is facing renewed criticism about the failed trial of 9/11 terror suspects in New York City during his time as mayor. Shining fresh light on the subject, The Daily Beast yesterday published a detailed report about the previous attempt to try five men accused of plotting the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 in a Manhattan federal court—partly dashed following opposition from Bloomberg.
https://www.newsweek.com/mike-bloomberg-new-york-city-mayor-911-terror-trial-opposition-2020-presidential-election-1488705

Republican says they had to lie about vote to Democrats at 9/11 ceremonies — or 'the terrorists win' - Raw Story

Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives have come under furious criticism for a vote overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of their budget bill, which blocks Medicaid expansion and underfunds public schools. Particularly at issue is the way they passed it — in a surprise morning vote, with half the Democratic lawmakers busy attending 9/11 memorial services, after promising Democrats that it was okay to skip the morning session because no votes would be held there.....
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/09/republican-says-they-had-to-lie-about-vote-to-democrats-at-9-11-ceremonies-or-the-terrorists-win/

'I won't be silent': Ilhan Omar answers Trump 9/11 attack

Congresswoman says rightwing vitriol cannot threaten her ‘unwavering love for America’ as president pushes video....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/12/ilhan-omar-democrats-trump-attacks-sanders-warren

New Kavanaugh documents prompt partisan debate over vetting - The Washington Post

The files include inconclusive emails about what role, in any, the Supreme Court nominee played in discussions about legal issues after 9/11. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-kavanaugh-documents-prompt-partisan-debate-over-vetting/2018/08/09/eac307c8-9be2-11e8-843b-36e177f3081c_story.html.

Jon Stewart Rips Into Mick Mulvaney for ‘Screwing’ 9/11 First Responders - The Daily Beast

It's rare these days to see Jon Stewart put on a tie and appear in public, but when the issue is important enough, he's still capable of making the effort. The former Daily Show host returned to Washington, D.C. once again on Monday, this time to assail the Trump administration's move to disrupt the World Trade Center Health Program, making it harder for 9/11 first responders to get the treatment they need. ....
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jon-stewart-rips-into-mick-mulvaney-for-screwing-911-first-responders

Roy Moore's five most controversial remarks | TheHill

Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore is the favorite to win Tuesday's GOP Senate primary runoff, despite a history of controversial statements on gay rights, abortion and the 9/11 terror attacks.....
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/351966-gop-senate-hopeful-roy-moores-five-most-controversial-remarks