Capitol Report Full Broadcast (Sept. 11)

Good evening. Tonight on Capitol Report, the heroes of 9-11, harrowing stories, and the ongoing fight against terrorism. We'll take you to the ceremonies in New York and at the Pentagon and see President Trump's remarks. Free people must never avert their eyes from such hideous cruelty. The Iran-backed Houthis advance on key shipping routes in the Red Sea, what it means for the U.S. and the region, and how Saudi Arabia could step up. $5,000 for every American. That's if Republicans win the midterms, according to what President Trump is saying, plus highlights from the RNC's midterm convention, countering messaging from the left. These hateful words come not from a love of country. They come not from a desire to serve you or our fellow Americans, but they come from a very deep emptiness. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. I'm Jack Bradley, in for Steve Lance tonight. And today marks 25 years since the 9-11 terror attacks. President Trump at the Pentagon, honoring the nearly 3,000 Americans killed in the attacks and the heroes who responded. 25 years later, the names are still being read. The faces are still remembered. And at the Pentagon, the nation is still making the same promise. Never forget. We will never, ever forget. President Trump marking the 25th anniversary of September 11th at the Pentagon, remembering the 184 people killed when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building, and the thousands more murdered in New York and Pennsylvania. September 11th reminded us of the terrible power of hate. The 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win. The president also remembering the Americans who ran toward the danger. On days like 9-11, we learn what a country is truly made of. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was serving in the Bush administration when the attacks happened. She recalled the moment she first saw the Pentagon, realizing America would never be the same. There was no doubt. The United States of America was at war. President Trump paying tribute to the many that served in the war on terror over the last 25 years to today. We salute the service members working right now to ensure the world's number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never ever have a nuclear weapon. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warning that the threat that America faced that day did not simply disappear. Over the past six months, we have laid waste to the world's most prolific state sponsor of terrorism. The United States has killed their leaders, destroyed their Air Force, and their Navy rests at the bottom of the sea. A quarter century later, the country has changed, but the sacrifice of those who died and the courage of those who responded remain at the center of the nation's memory. President Trump's address at the Pentagon comes on the heels of a pact two days in Dallas where he rallied voters at the RNC's first ever midterm convention. And later in the show, our panel will discuss what that convention achieved. But first, Iran-backed Houthi rebels are advancing their territorial control along the coastline of Yemen. The move could put a chokehold on one of the world's most strategic shipping routes. The Houthis are seeking to control the Bab-el-Mandab Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea. Now, the route carries roughly four to six million barrels of oil every day, and it has been used as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis have been trying to open a new front in the war between the U.S. and Iran. And joining us now to discuss the ongoing fight against terror, we have a retired Marine intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Hal Kemper. Colonel, thanks so much for joining us here. Now, the president spoke at the Pentagon today to commemorate the 9-11 attacks. I want to start us off with that. Let's take a look. That day, every one of us, we were all New Yorkers, but we were also all Americans. We were all family. We were all patriots. The enemy might destroy what American hands had built, but we could not touch the fight and the fire and the love in our great American heart. Colonel, you were part of the war on terror sparked by 9-11. What did 9-11 teach us about what it means to be an American? Well, Jack, what it taught us was that we have to be prepared. We have to be vigilant. We have to be aware that there are threats out there in the world. There are bad actors. In this case, it was al-Qaeda. We certainly saw al-Qaeda changed over the years. Eventually, we saw a thing called ISIS emerge. We're still dealing with another threat out there, which was all these terrorist groups sponsored by Iran. So it really kind of woke us up to that. And it really woke us up to the threat of what we call non-state actors. These are groups, organizations that are not traditional nation-states. It definitely was a distinct change from what we experienced in the Cold War. Not to say we didn't have a lot of terrorist groups in the Cold War, but usually tied them back to a state sponsor. In some cases like al-Qaeda, you really couldn't. The closest they had was Afghanistan. And so that was something that changed, and it certainly changed me. Rather dramatic for me, because personally, I was actually supposed to be in the Pentagon that week. I was actually supposed to be in the Pentagon that morning. And among my meetings, there was probably about a 50% chance I would have been in the section that was hit. So my schedule changed. I was fortunate, but it definitely brings home how that can reach, you know, how a threat like that can affect all of us, not just across the board, but personally. Well, we're very fortunate to have you here and that the way things played out for you as they did. But I want to get back to President Trump's speech. He made sure to salute those who are still fighting terror today. Let's listen. And today we salute every member of the United States military who served in the war on terror. And we salute the service members working right now to ensure the world's number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never, ever have a nuclear weapon. Now, Colonel, a quarter century later, where does the U.S. currently stand in the fight against Islamist terrorism? Well, we've opposed violent Islamic extremism all over the world. The war on terror is much broader than it was. When it kicked off, the focus was primarily on Afghanistan. But in the years hence, it moved to Iraq, Syria. Right now, there's major action going on in the Sahel region of West Africa. And so it definitely moved very quickly. But the reality was that Al Qaeda was not just a Afghanistan-based organization. Of course, they'd also been in Sudan, so they were in Africa already. But we quickly realized that this was much bigger. And it also brought it home. You know, big changes took place after the war in terms of our structure around the world and how we're set up. You know, the Director of National Intelligence was a position that did not exist. It does now. And part of that was to address shortfalls in intelligence sharing and collaborative efforts that had led to missed indications of warning of the threat that Al Qaeda posed. And we tried to correct that. And there's just a lot of things were done structurally, but also a lot of things in terms of our mindset that the war on terror and 9-11 caused. And now that takes us to today, where we're seeing Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have terrorists, really, who have launched a major offensive to seize control of Yemen's Red Sea coastline. What would that mean for global shipping? And if the Iranians succeeded, what would this all mean going forward from today on? Well, this is a big problem. The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, that's an area that I've spent some time in. I have been focused on maritime security matters there. That is a vital shipping lane. It's a maritime chokepoint. That's where the Indian Ocean essentially goes into the Red Sea. That's the way you get up to the Suez Canal, which is a major maritime artery for global shipping and for global commerce. Well, when the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf was basically shut down, the Saudis used the east-west pipeline to ship a lot more oil over to Yambu in the Red Sea. Some of that goes north up to Europe and elsewhere, but a lot of it goes south off to Asia and South Asia. And that has to go through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. So with the Houthis taking that island, it gives them an ability to use it for a variety of things, to track shipping, to target shipping. And so that's a big problem. And of course, you probably also saw it today that the Houthi attacks into Saudi Arabia have actually shut down the east-west pipeline. So this is a big challenge, not just to Saudi Arabia, but to everybody to deal with this. And it's a proxy. It's a terrorist organization. It's also a proxy of the nation-state of Iran. So it's part of their overall policy. It's part of their overall strategy. And we're just going to have to deal with it. Yeah, this is Iran's nuclear option in their current state is the Strait of Hormuz. Now it's looking like they can use the Houthis to disrupt that strait. But the U.S. Admiral Brad Cooper has been in Saudi Arabia discussing the Houthi offensive. What can Saudi Arabia do, and Yemen as well, to keep the Houthis from gaining the upper hand in the region? Well, they can do a number of things. The Yemeni government was kind of divided up until this last year. And they came to an agreement. They unified into one central government. That was a very positive step, which gives them the ability to move in a conservative manner as a complete comprehensive government and military force that goes with that. And then, of course, the Saudis. Now in 2015, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, kind of entered into a truce agreement, a ceasefire with the Houthis. They had been actively bombing them, attacking them up to that point. They reached this truce. Of course, what's happened in recent months is the Houthis have basically dissolved whatever truce was there. And the Saudis are going to have to make the decision. They have a very large military force. It's been backed by the United States. They have a lot of capabilities. I understand the Crown Prince has gone back and asked the U.S. to step in again to do stuff in Yemen, and that President Trump is a little reluctant to get more involved militarily in Yemen. And I think right now, everyone's kind of looking at Saudi Arabia. They do have the military wherewithal to do things along that coastline. They could potentially, you know, they sit right above Yemen. There is a coast road that they could possibly go down, and they could seize that coast road and seize that coastline. But the Houthis will meld into the mountains, and they will be a persistent threat. So it's not something that you can just easily deal with with a single maneuver like that. There's going to be a lot of fighting to eventually eradicate them. You know, President Trump recently said right before the midterm convention that the Iranian regime can only hold out till about after this, the midterms, and that the war will likely end right afterwards. But they're trying to get some people in Congress elected so that way they can be more favorable to ending this conflict without, you know, the U.S. coming on top. Do you think that Iran is in that kind of position? Well, what Iran is looking at, and this probably weighs heavily in our minds, but it also weighs probably more heavily in Tehran's mind, is the midterm elections. They see that as a point of leverage. They see that as a very coercive thing that they can do to force the Trump administration to make concessions that the Trump administration doesn't want to make. President Trump obviously realizes this. He's made it very clear that he's not going to be arm-twisted and forced into making a bad agreement with them that's not going to solve our strategic aims with this conflict. So he points to the midterm election, and what he points to rightly is once that's done, then there's nothing that the Iranians can do that can shift that election. Once that election's done, they have no more point of leverage there. So at that point, the regime is going to have to decide, is it going to deal with the United States or not? Because there's nothing they're going to do that's going to shift that election result because the election result's done. It's over with. And so I think he was just pointing out something that was very obvious, but probably for some, it did need to be made clear that that is a point that the Iranian regime has kind of settled on, and after that midterm is done, they don't have any more leverage in that regard. All right. Lieutenant Colonel Hal Kempfer, thank you so much for sharing your insights with us today. As always, much appreciated. All right. Thank you, Jack. From the ashes of 9-11, America found strength in unity. NTD Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in DC to hear from the people about their memory of that day. 9-11, we all saw the towers came down. Where were you at the time, and what was your first reaction? I was at work, and the first thing I thought of was a small plane. And then I headed out into the field in Rochester, New York, and all of a sudden, another one hit, and everybody knew what happened. I had to tour a lot of the stuff, because I was a FEMA employee. We went up to Fresh Kills. They found a stewardess's shirt, a blouse, when we were up there, when they were going through the rubble. There was flags flying in all of the tents. It was a very, very patriotic time, but it was so somber. A friend of mine, or my brother, was the week before. He was at the Trade Towers. He's got his pass, and he was with Marsh McClellan, and the people he had met, they were, most of them were killed. Well, so I wasn't born at the time, but I've obviously heard stories. My parents and, like, grandparents and everyone who was there will come out and, like, try to do, like, the stairs for 9-11, like the 110 floors of the towers and everything in honor of those that we lost. For those of us who didn't get to see 9-11 while it happened, what are some of the things we should understand about that day? The world came together behind the United States after it happened, but that didn't last very long. The biggest takeaway from that, that I wish it had lasted a lot longer. What they've done afterwards in honoring them, I've been through a few times, and it really is very solemn, and it's just a very lovely memorial for the people that died. I would hate for it to take another catastrophic event for the country to be united, but I feel like we can unite over things such as this. Like, it's a shared history of the nation. We're stronger together than we are divided. If we could all come back together as a nation, we would be completely unbeatable. That's why we win every Olympics we go to. That is why we feed all the countries of the world. That is why we win all the wars and free others, because of our unity. Next, malicious actors are using AI for Chinese repression on American soil. A new report from Anthropic reveals how foreign agents are using Claude, and multiple have direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. They're acting on behalf of the Chinese regime to collect information on dissidents as part of a transnational repression campaign. Here's NTD's Fiona Ji with the details from that report. Anthropic's report covers malicious activities from the last nine months, and it lists actors ranging from suspected financially motivated criminals, politically motivated individuals, and commercial spyware vendors, all the way to state propaganda institutions and state-sponsored groups. The report says that cases range from, quote, a network of fake dating apps designed to defraud users, to surveillance systems built to identify and monitor dissidents. A notable section of the findings reveals how users with links to the Chinese Communist Party use Claude to gather information and then build profiles of overseas dissidents. Targeted groups include Tibetan Buddhists, Catholic leadership, and Falun Gong, which is a spiritual practice brutally persecuted by the CCP since 1999. The report says the users instructed Claude to comb through domestic and overseas platforms for birthdates, birthplaces, immigration dates, and social media profiles of individuals. They also use the AI system to conduct reconnaissance on religious or lawful protest venues. In one specific case, the report finds that an instructor working at an American institution that's affiliated with Falun Gong was surveilled as part of the CCP's campaign of repressing Falun Gong overseas. Essentially, malicious actors are using Claude to replace teams of multiple intelligence collection workers. Now, just one single operator can input instructions into Claude, which then aggregates information from all online sources on its own. The report explicitly states that these are concrete acts of transnational repression. Anthropic says it has taken action to ban the threat actors' accounts and track their digital footprints to prevent further misuse. The tech company urges AI developers and governments to understand the risks of AI and to work to create safeguards. The AI race has been at the forefront of many geopolitical discussions, and the findings of this report are particularly pressing considering the Trump-Xi summit in Washington, D.C. is scheduled for September 24th. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Fiona Ji, NTD News. New warnings say self-improving AI is a huge risk for humanity. But President Trump says the more immediate danger is falling behind China. Find out more tonight on China In Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9.30 p.m. Eastern. And coming up, surprises from the RNC midterm convention. Trump's promise of a $5,000 dividend and a Democrat endorsement. We'll bring you the highlights and discuss with our panel just after the break. So at the age of five, I was sexually molested. I had my first child at the age of 15 and became homeless at the age of 16. The scariest part about not having a place to live was having a child and not having a place to live and not knowing where our meal was going to come from and where we're going to sleep. To be homeless as a teen, I didn't ask for that. No young person should ever have to worry about having a safe place to sleep at night or a warm meal to eat or whether anyone cares about them. One in 10 young adults will experience a form of homelessness this year, and that's unacceptable. But the good news is there is an organization making a big difference. Covenant House. Call or go online now for a gift of only $19 a month, just 63 cents a day. You can provide hot meals, safe shelter, medical care, and love to more than 2,000 young people who sleep at a Covenant House every night. For over 50 years, Covenant House has been helping youth in crisis. It was pretty tough. But Covenant House really helped me and really helped mold me into the woman I am today. Call or go online right now to safeplacetosleep.org with your gift of just $19 a month. With your monthly donation, you'll receive this soft, comforting blanket as a reminder of the warmth and safety your gift will provide a young person tonight. I have no words to express how Covenant House changed my life. They gave me the love that I needed. They just really genuinely just wanted to help me succeed, and I'm succeeding. Your $19 monthly gift is urgently needed to reach other young people who are facing unimaginable situations. Call or go online to safeplacetosleep.org. Your support makes the work of Covenant House possible. Thank you for caring. MyPillow's second annual mega sale is finally here. Get our patented premium, MyPillows, that adjusts to your exact individual needs to give you the best sleep of your life. When I got my pillow, I'm asleep almost immediately. I stay asleep at night, and I wake up more well-rested in the morning. Now for the lowest price ever. King's, $19.98. Queen's, only $18.98. And Gee's A Dream bedsheets, the best sheets in history, for as low as $29.98. Luxpeer six-piece towel sets, towels that actually dry you. What a concept. Now only $39.98. And are made in the USA mattresses and mattress toppers as low as $99.98. So go to MyPillow.com or call the number on your screen. Use your promo code to take advantage of our second annual mega sale. But that's not all. Order right now, and we'll ship your order absolutely free. Welcome back. I'm Jack Bradley. Now joining us now to discuss this historic RNC midterm convention, we have Democratic strategist Nate Lerner and Executive Director of California DOJ, Jenny Rae Le Roux. Jenny, thanks so much for joining us. And thank you as well, Nate. Great to see you both, as always. Now President Trump's made a unique promise to voters during the first night of the convention. Very unique one. Here's what he had to offer the nation if Republicans won the midterms. Take a look. If we win the midterms, we will, on the other hand, provide a, let's call it Trump dividend, $5,000 for every adult citizen in our country. And we can do that because our country has never done better. We're taking in trillions, trillions of dollars. There's never been any country, not even close, that's come anywhere near. Nate, what do you make of President Trump's $5,000 DOJ dividend? Yeah, I don't think it's going to happen. I'd be willing to bet my life savings that there's a 0% chance that anybody will be receiving one of those checks in the event that Republicans win. We've seen this from Trump before. We were promised checks after DOJ. We were promised checks after the tariffs. Those never arrived. I'm still waiting on my DOJ check. This is a move that reeks of desperation. It's pretty sad and pathetic. Anyone who believes in this, anyone who doesn't see this as anything other than a desperate move from a man who has seen the internal poll numbers is kidding themselves. This is really a sign of how weak Republicans are heading into the midterms. And I think it's, honestly, it's kind of pathetic. It's really, there's no other word for it. Now, Jenny, it's actually not the first time we've seen this before. President Biden floated the idea of having a $2,000 check go out during the 2021 Georgia runoffs. What do you make of this proposal? Well, I was at the convention, so I saw the enthusiasm from the ground. And of course, I'm running for Congress in California as well. $5,000 is a material amount of money. Nobody would tell you otherwise. And in this economy, it would make a huge difference to people. I think one of the key issues is that, for me, it takes away a little bit of the focus on what everybody gets if Republicans win in general. We keep the best tax cuts in history. We are fighting the war on fraud and winning. We really only began that war this year, even though it's kind of in the second year of Doge. There is a lot that we still have to deliver. We also have the largest deficit in history, and we have to be very frank and open about that with the American people. So I think that we do need to have adults in the room that talk about the fact that the American people will get a lot if we keep Republicans in power, not just $5,000. There's a lot more at stake here. Now, I want to get to another aspect that we saw at the convention. J.D. Vance took direct aim at what he called the far less hostility toward the nuclear family. Here he is. In Michigan, one Democrat in particular, one candidate has said, and I quote, F the nuclear family. What are you even talking about? These hateful words come not from a love of country. They come not from a desire to serve you or our fellow Americans, but they come from a very deep emptiness in the soul. So, Nate, Vance there was referring to Michigan Democrat William Lawrence. He once called the nuclear family a, quote, violent way of organizing society. He was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America until last month. But does this suggest that some candidates in the party are drifting too far to the left? No, I think what's happening is a reaction to our economy right now. I mean, people, the working class folks, middle class folks, everyone except those at the very top are struggling. And when people feel that capitalism in our current system is failing them and our leaders are failing them, they look for new solutions. And what's funny, though, is you speak about going to the left is that J.D. Vance's solution to supporting the nuclear family is to give them a stimulus check. And Trump wants to also give $5,000 to every American. That sounds quite a bit like socialism to me. I don't know how exactly we're going to pay for that, especially with a war going on. You know, look, I'm all for helping families. I'm all for helping those, you know, with children, providing them with child care and affordable free pay. But like, let's be real here and actually talk about the issues, not just big culture war problems. Every single family, every single American deserves to be supported. Everyone who's looking to have a child, whether they're married or not, if they're working or not, deserves to be supported in our country. We're the richest country in the world. And it's ridiculous that we have so, so many who are struggling and capitalism is failing. Now, Jenny, I want to give you an opportunity to respond to that. On this candidate, Lawrence, he deleted those posts. Do you read that as a shift in his thinking? Or is it more of a matter of political convenience heading into this competitive race? We're seeing this across the board. The left is far left. Sorry, who did you want to answer that? Yeah, sure. Great. I'll dive in. On the left, like, we're seeing this kind of across the board, right? They go as far to the left as they need to to win the primaries, and then they try to pivot back to the middle in order to win in the general. And we're seeing this in my district. Same thing happened in our primary. And it's a deep concern that people should have. If people tell you who they are, you should believe them. And we're seeing that very openly with the DSA. They're telling us what they want to do. They want to abolish prisons. They want to open the border. They want to end the ownership of private business and private property. And when we see this kind of reaction, a natural tenet of socialism is the belief that government is supreme over the nuclear family. And so I think it's an appropriate concern. Just deleting an old post doesn't mean that someone changed their mind. And Nate, do you have a response? Look, I think, you know, I'm not familiar with this candidate. I think clearly he misspoke. I'm not afraid to denounce statements from candidates who I don't agree with. It would be nice if Trump supporters would do the same thing when Trump says ludicrous things like immigrants are tainting the blood of our nation and things like that. Now, we had a surprise at the convention. Democratic Senator John Fetterman showing up endorsing President Trump as if he was on the ballot and also a Republican colleague in Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick. Here's Fetterman explaining why he's siding with Republicans. I'm always going to stand with America. I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life. Right back over my shoulder, that's the iconic U.S. steel mill. And that's exactly the kind of thing that will work together and will work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley. Pennsylvania's part of the Rust Belt has a long, a lot on the line here when it comes to offshoring manufacturing. But Nate, does it make sense for Fetterman to work with Republicans if it means that he thinks it'll bring steel jobs back? Yeah, I think every Democrat should be willing to work with Republicans, just like every Republican should be willing to work with Democrats to help Americans. My concern with Fetterman is I think that he's disingenuous. I think he's the writing on the wall and he's going to run as Republican. He knows he can't win as a Democrat because he's run so far to the right. And he has this very bizarre allegiance to Israel, which you can look up. It really makes no sense. And I think he would even lose the Republican primary in part because of that. So, look, I think he's not a real leader anymore. Clearly, the stroke, unfortunately, has had lasting effects on him. There's a lot coming out from his staff internally about messages he sent and the way he acts that's highly inappropriate. I'd be shocked if he's the nominee of either party in 2028 when the time is up. And, Jenny, we have Nippon Steel pledging additional investment in Pennsylvania. U.S. steel production is up in 2026. Canada, they lost about 2,000 steel jobs during that same period of time. Is Fetterman here simply prioritizing his constituents over party lines? I think Fetterman has done an excellent job of prioritizing the needs of his district over party lines. And this is one of the things that we're seeing Americans want. They actually don't want partisanship. They're not interested in having the culture war and the partisan issues. They want to have lower prices. We want to have key affordability metrics in our districts. We want to have housing built. We want to have roads maintained. These are the things that we want government to do for us. And Fetterman has actually been a voice of clarity and common sense, where the rest of the Democrat Party has offered none of that. They've offered communism as an exchange. And I think that we may be right. It's a possibility that he will re-register as a Republican and run as a Republican. But I think that Fetterman has done, in many ways, he's outperformed my expectations. I was the first to line up and talk about what a terrible choice I thought he was for Pennsylvania originally. But his willingness to do the right thing for his district, regardless of his party affiliation, has been very important to me. Yeah, Fetterman did come out as a shock to a lot of people. Now, the larger goal of this midterm convention that we saw was to appeal to voters as the midterm approaches. We have both primaries, both parties' primaries, largely settled here. Nate, do you think that the convention will move the needle at all in November? You know, actually, I think the convention was a cool idea. This current climate and circumstance reeks of desperation, as I pointed out. It's pretty clear that because Republicans are struggling so much, that's why they're so desperate to change mail-in voting. That's why they're so desperate to gerrymander. This is just another desperate move on their part to try to move the needle. And I think voters are smart enough to pick up on that, particularly younger voters who went for Trump in surprising numbers last time. So I think this is going to backfire because people, they can smell desperation, and that's exactly what this is. And Jenny, do you think that it succeeded in rallying voters, the midterm convention? I think it was multiple goals, and many of them were achieved, absolutely. It was an enthusiasm boost for a lot of us that have been working really hard on the ground to meet with voters. It was clarity on messaging. We've known this from polling from the beginning. Everybody cares about a couple of key things. It's the economy, and the economy, and the economy over again. And so the message was clear. The rallying of folks together was pretty exciting. And the Republican Party throws a pretty good party. So I actually think that the midterm convention is going to become a staple of the midterm cycle going forward. I think it makes sense. It was a great fundraising tool. It was an enthusiasm boost. The media, of course, loved it. And I think it's an opportunity for us to not just hear from voters, but also to hear across state lines and across district lines what's resonating in other places. And I think we took a lot away from that. So I was glad to be there. And I think that we'll see a lot of fruit from it as we go forward into the next few days. All right. Jenny Rae Rue and Nate Lerner, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your insights today. Really appreciate it. Thank you. And coming up, the importance of remembering the history of 9-11. President Trump calling Americans to remember the wickedness and the good from September 11, 2001. We'll discuss when we come back. Alert. Back doors open. Where did the time go? Somehow I lost all those years. Where did the time go? I don't know and see now. You've done the hard part. You quit smoking. Now do the easy part and get scanned for lung cancer. If you smoked, you may still be at risk. But early detection could save your life. Talk to your doctor and learn more at Saved by the Scan.org. Welcome back. I'm Jack Bradley. And today marks New York's 9-11 anniversary at Ground Zero, honoring those lost and those still living with the aftermath. NTD's Niku Bhani has the story. I'm here at the Ground Zero 9-11 memorial ceremony and behind me, family members and first responders are commemorating 25 years since 9-11. Vice President J.D. Vance is also in attendance as the morning begins with a procession of pipers and drummers into the memorial. At each key moment of the attacks, the ceremony pauses for a moment of silence. A bell marking the time. A reminder of what happened here 25 years ago. Then the reading of the names. Eric L. Bennett. One by one, family members named the nearly 3,000 people lost on 9-11. George John Bishop. And for those who lived through that tragic day, the memories remain vivid. Well, I remember very well the feelings of that day and the sense of shock and surprise. And then quickly it began to be clear just how many families would be bereaved, how many people would be lost. It's very meaningful for them to be here when they hear the name of their loved one read aloud. But for a generation born after the attacks, 9-11 is history. So 25 years later, the question is, how do we keep that memory alive? Never forget is an action. And as a father of a now five-year-old, it means even more to me about ensuring that what happened on that tragic day never happens again. But what is it that Americans should never forget? Because the most horrible event that everyone saw was the exact same event that sparked so much service, so much sacrifice on the part of people who wanted to help. Strangers helping strangers and a city coming together. It was New Yorkers just saying hello. New Yorkers saying hi to each other. New Yorkers wanting to greet each other. And for that to be an everyday thing was really meaningful to everyone, including myself. And this year, the ceremony is also recognizing another part of the story. A seventh moment of silence honoring those who died in the years since 9-11 from related illnesses and injuries. A toll that now surpasses the number of people killed on September 11th itself. Nikovani, NTD News, New York. More than one-fourth of America's population was born after September 11th, 2001. Today, President Trump speaking about remembering the wicked and the good from that day that undoubtedly changed the world. Joining me now to discuss is Director of Communications at the Lawfare Project, Jane Zirkle. Jane, thanks so much for joining us here today. Let's start with a soundbite from President Trump at the 9-11 commemoration in Arlington today. Take a look. Free people must never avert their eyes from such hideous cruelty bent on the destruction of all that is good. But this morning, we also remember how America responded to that wickedness. On days like 9-11, we learn what a country is truly made of. Jane, it's been a quarter century since 9-11, and an entire generation has grown up without experiencing that tragedy firsthand. What does it mean for us today, and what do we need to teach about it? Well, as a member of Generation Z, I'm a part of the post-9-11 generation. I never knew a world without the September 11th attacks, and every year I've seen the ceremony on television. This year, I had the incredible privilege of seeing the ceremony in person. I attended today in New York City, and I have to say the overwhelming sentiment from the families on the ground is that even after 25 years, it does not get easier. Although I will have to say, out of 9-11, with so much darkness, there was a lot of light. The stories of heroism, the Americans helping their fellow Americans, just average everyday people who went to work, came home and became heroes. The stories of the firefighters who ran towards the smoke, towards the fires. I mean, the list goes on and on. And I think as a country, we should strive to be the America that America was on 9-12 and the days following 9-11. And I wish I could sit here and tell you that 25 years later, we were more united than ever. But unfortunately, I don't think that's the case. But I will say it's not typically what people would think. It's not left versus right, but rather it's freedom-loving Americans versus people who want to see the American way of life done away with. And it's very unfortunate that you have organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America that share a lot of the same values as the Al-Qaeda terrorists did. They want to destroy the Constitution. They want to abolish the presidency. The DSA wants to get rid of foundational American institutions. And so 25 years later, we're now facing a new battle from within. Absolutely. You know, on that point, the president contrasted these heroic first responders of 9-11 with the terrorists and the terrorist sympathizers. I want to roll a clip of that now. We can raise our children to know that their country is good, that their fathers are brave, and that our flag is a symbol of justice and freedom. And we can be a nation whose heroes are not fanatics for an abstract cause. They don't even know really what they're doing. But the kind who race into buildings and give their lives on a Tuesday morning for strangers they've never met. Jane, what does that contrast look like now as we head into, you know, this next few years? Well, like I mentioned before, I do think that we're in a situation that it's freedom-loving Americans versus those who want to see the American way of life fail. And I think as we saw at the RNC this past weekend with John Fetterman crossing party lines to essentially say, you know, I'm standing up for freedom. You're seeing that in action. Obviously, there was a lot of debate around figures like Zoran Mondami attending the ceremony. There was a petition with over 100,000 signatures demanding that he not attend. And listen, 100,000 signatures is not a drop in the bucket. You cannot sit here and say that all 100,000 of those people, many of whom are 9-11 family members, are somehow these racist bigots who are the ones causing the division. And so I think it's very important that in order to unite and to fully remember and honor the legacy of 9-11 that we have leaders who are unafraid to call out what really happened that day and say the reality of radical Islamic terrorists attack this country. And I think for leaders who are unable to say that, it's doing a disservice to the victims of 9-11. It's doing a disservice to their families. And I think it's incredibly important that we hold our leaders accountable to this. And also, it's incredibly important that we have a 9-11 curriculum. This should be something nationally. And it's something at the New York City level that the Lawfare Project, my organization, is working very hard to implement. You know, just yesterday, we had the anniversary, the one-year anniversary of the death of Charlie Kirk. And there was a lot of division there. On social media, there's a whole group of people who are celebrating his death. But then one day later, we have mostly unity. And this is the unity that I feel like we don't really have for any other time of the year that crosses party lines. But we're seeing the socialism rise within the Democratic Party, with the DSA candidates gaining more traction. We have socialist figures who are sympathetic to Islamism. Does this have a place in American society? Is this something we should tolerate? How should we deal with it? Well, let's be clear here. The DSA is not an Islamic organization. However, you're right in that it is a Trojan horse for radical Islam extremism. You see the people who are associated with the DSA, people like Hasan Piker, who say that America deserved 9-11, that he hates America, repeatedly saying this. And this figure is now being embraced by a whole slate of DSA candidates. That's very concerning. And I will say that the NJU hatred movement recently hosted a rally on September 8th, just ahead of 9-11, where we welcomed in 9-11 family members to speak. These were family members who were involved in the petition to actually remove Mondami from the ceremony. And they specifically called out the DSA ideology. And the thing was too, not only do we have 9-11 family members, but we had Democrats, we had Republicans, we had all different faiths. We even had Muslim speakers. And so this was an interfaith uniting event to stand against extremism. And again, I think the thing to come together on is to stand against the extremism and stand against the hatred that the DSA is fueling across our country. We should return to the America we were on 9-12, and that means rejecting ideologies like the DSA. All right, Jane Zirkle, thank you so much for bringing some clarity to our audience. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. And coming up, a man is in custody for allegedly running a scheme to collect fraudulent ballot initiative signatures. That and more when we return. The streaming platform from Shen Yun, featuring world-class dance, past programs, and all original music, masterclasses, behind the scenes, comedy, and more. Explore ShenYunCreations.com. When you look at your grocery bill, is it so high it knocks you off your feet? It's time to stand up and save with Instaseal by Bell & Howell. The world's first vertical vacuum sealing system designed to save you money. Unlike ordinary storage bags that trap air in, spoiling your food, Instaseal removes the air completely, extending freshness up to six times longer. Now that's saving. With just one touch, it auto-feeds the bag to seal, pauses to vacuum out the air, then continues to perfectly seal. When you add it all up, Instaseal will help you seal and save hundreds on your family's grocery bill. Get the complete Instaseal system for the special TV discount price of just $99.99. Plus, we'll ship your entire order free. Order now. To order, call 1-800-318-7389. That's 1-800-318-7389 or order online at BuyInstaseal.com. Appliances break down, home systems fail, which means I show up at everyone's door because I'm inevitable. Unfortunately, something expensive is about to happen. Is it the heat? Plumbing? Electrical? Wiring? Garage door? Oven? But we already have homeowner's insurance. Actually, home insurance is for the unexpected disasters. A home warranty is for the everyday wear and tear that will cause your home systems and appliances to fail. So give the people at First American a call. First American has had my back for years. It saved me hundreds. Just one call and they send a pre-screened, qualified contractor. Every home system and appliance fails. There's absolutely no avoiding it. But when the day comes, First American has your cover. Home breakdowns are inevitable, but the expense, that's optional. Call First American for a free quote that could save you thousands on inevitable home breakdowns. Call 800-423-1231 or visit FAHW.com. Hey, have you heard what's happening at Mathis Home? Get Labor Day deals on the latest living rooms. We make it easy to get the styles you love at incredible values. Plus, you don't have to wait. Take five years to pay with easy monthly payments. Upgrade to power with this luxurious leather sofa from Ashley for comfort at the touch of a button. Plus, with our all-new 60-month financing, you can take it home today with a payment of just $50 a month. Relax and get comfortable now with Labor Day deals at your furniture superstore, Mathis Home. Welcome back. I'm Jack Bradley. A California man is arrested for allegedly paying LA homeless to sign a ballot initiative to use stolen identities. To do so, he faces two felony identity fraud counts. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. The Justice Department arrested and charged James Brass of California with identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud. Brass is accused of running a ballot petition fraud scheme in LA's Skid Row. Allegedly, he and others paid homeless people to sign ballot initiative petitions using stolen identities of registered voters. They're preying on the homeless population there. Obviously, you have a very vulnerable group there and they're willing to do basically anything for a few bucks, and so he's using them to commit fraud. Also, two of Brass' alleged employees, Jatisha Heron and Courtney Price, were charged in the case. All three face a conspiracy count. Brass and Price also face an identity fraud count. Mr. Brass and his co-conspirators, they had access to registered voters' information on an application and they were able to bring up those voters' names and then they were paying homeless people to sign in those voters' names. And the reason that's important is because he only got paid if he collected a signature from a valid registered voter. Bo'Keefe Media Group went undercover and caught the alleged scheme on camera. So, do you want to sign? The first one. I'm Joseph Albright, okay. Joseph Albright. How much are you going to pay him? I'm giving him $2 right now for whatever he gave me. $2? Yeah. Bill Asaley also said the Justice Department knows who hired and paid Brass, but that information won't be released while the investigation is still ongoing. Jason Blair, N2D News. And President Trump says nearly 1 million Americans will soon receive $500 refunds tied to Obamacare exchange fees. The administration says Biden-era fees caused higher premiums, creating a surplus that can now go back to the people. Eligible Americans in 30 states are expected to receive checks beginning in October. The move comes as the Trump administration pushes higher Obamacare oversight and lower exchange fees. And that's all we have for you tonight on The Capitol Report. Stay connected to the stories that matter. Visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. From the nation's capital, I'm Jack Bradley. Have a nice evening and we'll see you right back here on Monday.