Would the nation unite if another 9/11 happened today?

In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.It was a brisk October night in the Bronx for Game 3 of the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees. But this wasn’t just any Fall Classic. The grief and anger were still palpable following the Sept. 11 attacks that killed 2,967 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania more than one month prior. Before the game, the former owner of the Texas Rangers, who became the country’s 43rd president, George W. Bush, was warming up to throw out the first pitch in the batting cages in the basement of Yankee Stadium. Due to obvious security concerns, Bush had to wear a bulletproof vest underneath his FDNY sweater, making throwing a strike from the rubber in front of 56,000 people even more difficult. And as Bush was about to depart for the mound, the great Derek Jeter stopped him to provide some pointed advice. “Don’t bounce it,” Jeter cautioned. They’ll boo you.”“The gravity of the moment never really hit me until the first step coming out of that dugout,” Bush said. “I remember the noise and it was deafening. I remember looking around the stadium, this giant crowd. Standing on the mound at Yankee Stadium was by far the most nervous moment of my presidency.”As the 55-year-old president walked to the mound, the crowd roared as if Babe Ruth himself had entered the building. Bush gave a thumbs up. The fans roared even louder. And then he looked at home plate and tossed a perfect strike. The roar following was deafening, followed by chants of “USA! USA!”America was indeed united behind its president following the attacks. Bush’s approval rating was at 90% and stayed in that range for months following. And almost no elected lawmaker at the time pointed fingers at the other side. Nor did anyone of substance in the media, with very few exceptions. “You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy,” the late Colin Powell said at the time. “Remember the hours after Sept. 11 when we came together as one!” remarked then-Sen. John Kerry, who would run against Bush for president three years later. “It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.”Twenty-four years later, almost to the day, conservative activist Charlie Kirk visited Utah Valley University to openly debate students there on topics from immigration to men playing against women in sports. The date was Sept. 10. Kirk, 31, was answering a question on mass shootings carried out by transgenders when he was shot and killed on stage. President George W. Bush speaks to rescue workers, firefighters and police officers from the rubble of Ground Zero September 14, 2001 in New York City. Standing with Bush is retired firefighter Bob Beckwith and at (R) is New York Governor George Pataki. (Eric Draper/White House/Getty Images) Unfortunately, in an age of ubiquitous cellphone cameras, footage immediately flooded social media showing the graphic and horrifying moment Kirk was struck in the neck by a single bullet. And also almost immediately, some of the Left and in the legacy media actually either celebrated his death or justified it happening. Anti-Trump commentator Matthew Dowd, on MSNBC, remarked that Charlie Kirk was “one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups,” before it was even known if Kirk had survived or not. “And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.” The network fired Dowd shortly thereafter. Podcaster Jennifer Welch, who appears on cable news networks MS Now and CNN as a commentator, demanded that Democratic lawmakers publicly celebrate Kirk’s assassination. The demand came after Welch played a clip on her show of a Florida woman who said she was glad that Kirk, a husband and father of two young children, was dead. “Listen up, Democratic establishment,” she warned. “You can either jump on board with this s***, or we’re coming after you the same way we come after MAGA. Period.”“We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was,” declared Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) after joining 58 other Democrats in voting against a House resolution honoring Kirk’s life proposed shortly after his death. “His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans.”Ocasio-Cortez is currently a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination if she runs in 2028. And as usual, she offered no examples of which of Kirk’s beliefs were ignorant, nor how exactly he sought to disenfranchise millions of the public, nor did any reporter press her for them. Across the country, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals openly celebrated Kirk’s murder. Their sentiment was splashed all over social media, with some even recording videos of themselves laughing at the gruesome footage of his last moments. One Chicago elementary teacher can be seen gesturing an imaginary gun to her neck and yelling “Bang! Bang!” in a video. She was not fired from her teaching position despite the video being seen millions of times. So, given the backdrop of the reaction from more than a few on the Left to Kirk’s assassination, the question is this: Would people be able to rally around the flag and the president regardless of political party if another 9/11 occurred?If the reaction to Kirk’s assassination is any indication, the answer is no. The example of Luigi Mangione, the disgruntled rich kid who shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson from behind in midtown Manhattan in Dec. 2024, is also instructive. Mangione has since been celebrated by some as a hero. His GoFundMe page even raised more than $1 million before being shut down. “Talking about Luigi as a ‘killer’ without mentioning the tens of thousands of deaths Brian Thompson was responsible for is manufacturing consent for corporate genocide,” argued Briahna Joy Gray, a former national press secretary for Bernie Sanders.“The visceral responses from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said after Thompson’s death. “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far.”Revolting. Overall, just 18% of self-described Democrats said they felt “proud” to be Americans, while just 17% felt “grateful,” according to a recent Elon University survey. Other polls have similar results.One would think the assassination attempts on Trump, three and counting, or the deaths of Kirk and Thompson would compel those on the Left and their allies in the media to turn down the temperature. To unite as one in a basic choice between good and evil. The Sept. 11 attacks brought people together in a unity not seen since World War II. God forbid another attack like it occurs. The kind of unity it produced is long gone. We will likely never experience that proud feeling we all had watching Bush toss a strike at Yankee Stadium 25 long years ago.