Transcript of Remembering 9/11, Republican Midterm Convention Wraps, SCOTUS Missouri Redistricting

25 years after the 9/11 attacks, Americans remember the dead and the wounded in an event that altered the lives of millions.

Today, New York adds a moment of silence for those who later died from 9/11-related illnesses.

I'm Michelle Martin. That's Steve Inskeep. And this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump held a midterm event to call attention to himself. Vice President Pence cast the election not as a referendum on an unpopular president, but a choice between parties.

The contrast in this election Ladies and gentlemen, it's not about this or that policy. It's about the party of common sense beating the party of the crazies.

How did Republicans make their case?

Also, a Supreme Court justice again blocked Missouri's Republican-drawn congressional map. How does that affect the fight over the House? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

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25 years ago this morning, Americans heard news of a plane that struck the World Trade Center. For many people, it wasn't until the second plane struck that they realized it was an attack. At the Pentagon, U.S. military officers were watching TV images of the attack when a plane struck there. A fourth plane crashed in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Now, a quarter century later, communities around the U.S. are gathering to remember. And of course, that includes people in New York. This morning, NPR's Brian Mann is in Lower Manhattan. at the 9/11 Memorial. And Brian, what are you seeing and hearing?

Yeah, the first moments of silence have begun here, Steve. I'm going to speak a little bit softly because in the background right now people are reading out the names of those lost on 9/11. It's family members speaking. Incredible emotion here. There are no speeches, that's according to long-standing custom, but there is music. Yo-Yo Ma is performing in the background to accompany them. And just a few moments ago The Brooklyn Youth Chorus performed the Star-Spangled Banner.

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And Steve, of course, these young people grew up in a city reshaped by 9/11. I did also speak a few minutes ago with Louis Chenault, a New York firefighter, now retired, who was here that day.

The South Tower had already fallen. But when I got here, the North Tower was still standing, and I could hear on the radio the voice of a friend of mine.

And he did, he did not make it.

No, no, he didn't.

I'm so—

All the living U.S. presidents except Trump are here to mark this moment. Bill Clinton, George Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden have arrived. President Trump, Steve, is expected to speak soon at a ceremony at the Pentagon. There will also be ceremonies today in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of those hijacked planes came down.

Right.

Brian, what are people telling you about how these past 25 years have changed their lives?

You know, so much sorrow and regret. 2,977 people died that day. I spoke with Paul Keating, whose mother Barbara died when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. Her remains were finally found and identified just last year, and so Barbara Keating is being laid to rest today in Massachusetts.

We carved the headstone 25 years ago, but, you know, she wasn't there, and now she will be. This feels like, at least to some degree, some closure.

And the losses, of course, weren't just on 9/11. After the terror attack, the U.S. launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At least 7,000 U.S. service members died, and I spoke about That with Reverend Eric Olson, who served with the New York National Guard both here at Ground Zero and later on a tour in Iraq.

As the war went on, I did a lot of death notifications. I was with a lot of families who lost their, their sons and daughters. And it's just a very sad time. I reflect on it very sad. It's just what a waste.

Olson and others I spoke to, Steve, said they think Americans responded with real courage after 9/11. But I also heard from people who think this event left the U.S. more afraid and more politically and culturally divided.

Brian, I understand that one of the moments of silence today is for effectively a new category of loss.

That's right. A 7th moment of silence to honor those who've died from 9/11-related illnesses over the last 25 years. Tens of thousands of people got sick, including first responders and Manhattan residents. They're being remembered here today.

NPR's Brian Mann is in Lower Manhattan near the 9/11 Memorial. Brian, thanks so much.

Thanks, Steve.

Now, we heard the president will be speaking at the Pentagon today. Last night, President Trump closed out his midterm Republican convention, so-called, begging his supporters to vote in November.

You know what happens if you don't vote?

You go to hell. You know that, okay? You go to hell. And I don't want that to happen to you, so please go and vote.

The question is, will they? And after 2 days of speeches, did Republicans sell anyone other than their diehard supporters on keeping them in power for 2 more years?

NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith is up early to tell us about this.

Hi there, Tam.

Good morning.

Uh, okay, so this was a big advertisement for the Republicans in the midterms. What was their pitch?

Yeah, Vice President J.D. Vance put it succinctly in his keynote speech last night. At one point, he alluded to the Iran War and conceded that people may not be happy with all of the administration's policies.

The contrast in this election, ladies and gentlemen, it's not about this or that policy. It's about the party of common sense beating the party of the crazies. Let's send these lunatics packing and govern our country for the future.

That idea that it's common sense versus an extreme Democratic Party is the way Republicans are trying to make this election a choice rather than a referendum on an unpopular president. And you can see that in the way that they have used Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, almost as a caricature of the far left run amok. So many of the speakers mentioned him, you could get the impression that half the lineup was running for the Senate in Michigan.

And some people might be running for something Did you get a sense of something beyond that, Tam? When you put Vice President Vance at a convention, you— it's not hard to imagine that he might hope to be speaking at a presidential nominating convention someday. Did you get any sense of a passing of the torch?

Not really. Vice President Vance was definitely well received by the crowd, but not nearly as ecstatically as they responded to Trump. And earlier in the evening, I went around interviewing several attendees, asking them where the party goes from here. They had been thinking about it, and Meredith Smith said she wishes Trump would run again and that she could vote for him again.

Trump is kind of a one-time, one-time thing. I mean, I really think God picked him personally for such a time as this.

You know, like pretty much everyone I talked to, she mentioned Vance as the possible heir apparent. Her friend Sherry Hobson is also looking to the cabinet for what could come next.

He's built this Republican Party and the bench is deep. I have a lot of faith in J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, and I really hope that they run as a ticket.

And then she did the math and said, you know, they could hold office for the next 16 years.

So what are you taking away from this convention?

You know, the image I'm left with was the last one of the night. The upper deck of the arena was Totally empty, thousands of empty seats as red, white, and blue and gold balloons dropped from the ceiling. And the president's favorite tenor sang America the Beautiful and Phantom of the Opera. And Trump was undoubtedly in his happy place, closing his eyes and swaying on stage. But it's not clear that his party is really in any better place than it was than when this started. There will be more rallies in the fall, but in a way, this convention was Trump's last hurrah as a dominant political figure. And in a Fox News interview recorded earlier in the day, he even backpedaled a little about the stakes in these midterms. He said he wouldn't be campaigning as hard as he did for himself 2 years ago and even suggested that he could work with Democrats if they gain control of Congress.

NPR's Tamara Keith, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

You're welcome.

Now, the Republican plan for redistricting in Missouri is blocked after further court moves yesterday.

That included a Supreme Court order and, later, the state's highest election official being found in contempt of court. There's still a court challenge, but this is a win for Democrats after President Trump got Republicans to tilt several other districts their way in the for control of the House.

St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum has been covering this for more than a year and surely ain't done yet. Joins us now, Jason. Good morning.

Thank you for having me.

Okay, so, uh, what was the ruling yesterday? What had happened? What's the backdrop?

So a federal judge in St. Louis had ordered that the Republican redistricting plan had to be used while he considers a case on it. But the U.S. Supreme Court blocked that yesterday with an unsigned order and no dissents. So that means the map Missouri Republicans passed at the behest of Trump is blocked while the case is considered, and there's not much time before the election to actually consider it. After the U.S. Supreme Court ended up acting, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican who's been pushing for this GOP map, said he would go back to the old map used in the last 2 elections.

Oh, so he's now doing what the state Supreme Court wants him to do. He was in trouble with the state Supreme Court yesterday.

Yes, he was very much in trouble. So opposite from what the federal court did, the Missouri Supreme Court had already ruled that the GOP map could not be used. That was because redistricting opponents gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to put the new map up for a vote in November. And the state court said you can't use the new map before voters approve it. But Hoskins was defying that order, and the state Supreme Court warned that he could be found in contempt. And after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, he relented. Here's what he told reporters.

The only order that we have is from the Missouri Supreme Court. And so we have directed our local election authorities to follow the order of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Now, Hoskins was still found in contempt of court, but the state judges said that since he had corrected his stance, they would not punish him.

Okay. When you look at the map of Missouri, there's a couple of Democrats and a Vast majority of Republicans in the congressional delegation. But there's really one seat at issue here, the one around Kansas City. Who holds it now?

It's Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. He's been in office for 2 decades, and the newer map sought to oust him by linking parts of Kansas City with rural areas. He told me yesterday that Missourians should be proud to have pushed back.

But I think that if we can get people around the country who may be looking at us as some kind of country bumpkin state can also look at us and say, The people in Missouri are people who understand their power.

With Cleaver favored to win now, this would be one less seat the Republicans can count on in the midterms. Now, keep in mind, they still tilted several other seats around the country their way, as Trump wanted.

Yeah, they had like a 10-seat advantage overall, maybe more like 9 now. But where does this go next?

The federal case I mentioned, still active. There are arguments next week, and Missouri Republican Congressman Bob Onder One of the parties in it said yesterday it's not over, but redistricting opponents say there's not enough time for the case, only a week before ballots start going out. Some legal experts told me the U.S. Supreme Court's move to block the GOP map already indicates what it would do if the case comes back to there again.

Although I'm sure the justices would insist that is not the case. The preliminary ruling does not necessarily say how they would rule, but we'll find out. Jason, thanks.

Thank you.

Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio, thanks. And that's Up First for this Friday, September 11th. I'm Steve Inskeep.

And I'm Michele Martin. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Jennifer Portman, Megan Pratt, Larry Kaplow, Mohammed Elbardisi, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines and Robert Rodriguez. Our technical director is Carly Strange, and our executive producer is Jay Shaler. We hope you'll join us again. We'll see you again on Monday.

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On the latest Code Switch, 25 years after 9/11, Americans have gotten real used to being watched by the government, from doorbell cameras to AI-powered license plate readers.

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