Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers has released a new campaign advertisement featuring David Beamer, the father of Todd Beamer, a hero of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. The ad, released as the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaches, includes Beamer's endorsement of Rogers and his criticism of Democratic opponent Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

David Beamer, a Michigan resident, targeted El-Sayed's past association with streamer Hasan Piker, who had previously stated that "America deserved 9/11." While El-Sayed has disavowed that specific comment, Beamer argues that "An American would not" say such a thing.

The advertisement also draws attention to El-Sayed's own previous remarks concerning 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror. In now-deleted social media posts, El-Sayed had drawn parallels between COVID-19 fatalities and the death toll from the 9/11 attacks, and noted the anti-Muslim sentiment that followed. El-Sayed has maintained that he views 9/11 as a tragic event.

Rogers, a former FBI agent and ex-chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has made El-Sayed's past statements a focal point of his campaign against the former public health official.

The Events of Flight 93

Todd Beamer was aboard United Airlines Flight 93 when it was hijacked by al-Qaeda operatives on September 11, 2001. After learning that other planes had struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Beamer and other passengers on Flight 93 initiated a plan to confront the hijackers. Beamer's last known words were to an airfone operator, stating that passengers were preparing to take back the plane.

The passengers' actions, according to the 9/11 Commission, prevented the aircraft from reaching its intended target in Washington D.C., believed to be either the U.S. Capitol or the White House. The plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, saving an unknown number of lives.

David Beamer, who has consistently honored his son's sacrifice and the actions of the Flight 93 passengers, urged Michigan voters to "vote America this time," warning of threats posed by democratic socialists. He emphasized the ongoing responsibility to preserve the memory of those who fought back on 9/11.

"America was built. America was protected, and that's what it takes," David Beamer stated in the ad.