GOP uses 9/11 anniversary to bash left-wing Dems
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DALLAS — Republicans are invoking 9/11 to bash left-wing Democrats in a growing number of midterm races, seizing on the 25th anniversary of the attacks to portray them or their supporters as anti-American and sympathetic to terrorists.
Why it matters: It marks the return of a controversial political tactic that was common in the years after the 9/11 attacks but had largely faded from campaigns over the past quarter-century.
Driving the news: The strategy is playing out most prominently in Michigan, where Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is expected to use his speech at the GOP's midterm convention to assail Democrat Abdul El-Sayed over 9/11, Axios has learned.
- Rogers aims to contrast El-Sayed's relationship with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker — who said in 2019 that "America deserved 9/11" (a comment Piker now disavows) — with Rogers' own background as an FBI agent, according to a person familiar with his prepared remarks.
Rogers and his allies have saturated the Michigan race with 9/11-focused attacks in the days leading up to Friday's anniversary.
- Rogers' campaign has been releasing videos spotlighting Michiganders who were impacted by 9/11. "No individual, no country, no matter where you're from, deserved what happened that day," a man says in one.
- In the Detroit area, a pro-Rogers super PAC has begun airing a one-minute ad that yokes Rogers to Piker and includes images of jets crashing into the World Trade Center.
The other side: El-Sayed, a critic of Israel's government whose nomination was a victory for the rising left wing of the Democratic Party, has repeatedly rejected Piker's 2019 comment and said America didn't deserve to be attacked.
- "Of course, it was a dumb statement," El-Sayed said recently. "America didn't deserve 9/11."
- But El-Sayed has resisted calls to cut ties with Piker, who has campaigned with him and commands a large following among young progressives. El-Sayed has accused Republicans of engaging in Islamophobia.
"Abdul has always unequivocally condemned terrorism and the September 11 attacks," El-Sayed spokesperson Roxie Richner told Axios.
- "Mike Rogers' attempts to misrepresent Abdul's beliefs are bad-faith lies meant to mislead Michiganders."
While taking back his 2019 comments, Piker has continued to defend his underlying argument that U.S. foreign policy over several decades helped create the conditions that led to the attacks.
What they're saying: Matt Schlapp, who was George W. Bush's White House political director on 9/11, said the GOP strategy was smart — but needed to be handled carefully because the party seeks to court Arab voters.
- "The battle is with ... those who are hateful and violent, not with this large voting bloc," Schlapp told Axios.
Zoom out: Republicans are invoking 9/11 in campaigns beyond Michigan.
- In New York, the National Republican Congressional Committee attacked Democratic House candidate Effie Phillips-Staley over an appearance she made with Piker, and called on her primary rivals to condemn her.
- In Colorado, Republicans have assailed Democratic House candidate Melat Kiros for saying 9/11 was "inevitable" because of America's policies in the Middle East.
Between the lines: The GOP's 9/11-focused barrage is part of a broader effort to brand Democrats as extreme and increasingly influenced by the party's left wing.
- With President Trump's poll numbers sagging amid voters' frustration over high prices and the war in Iran, Republicans are looking to discredit Democrats and turn the midterms into a "Who's worse?" election.
- The question is whether voters — who polls indicate are mostly focused on cost-of-living issues — will be swayed.
Flashback: Republicans routinely cited 9/11 and terrorism in campaigning against Democrats immediately after the attacks.
- In 2002, Republicans famously aired an ad featuring images of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein while attacking Democratic Sen. Max Cleland's national security record. Cleland, who represented Georgia and had lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam, lost his bid for reelection.
- Two years later, Bush made the war on terrorism and his response to 9/11 central to his reelection campaign. He ran ads featuring images of Ground Zero, held his convention at Madison Square Garden, and made former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani a key surrogate.
- And when Giuliani ran for president in 2008, he made his leadership of the city in the aftermath of 9/11 a centerpiece of his unsuccessful campaign.
