Retired Col. Rob Maness told Newsmax that, 25 years after 9/11, the U.S. remains at elevated risk, citing what he called inadequate vetting and ideological threats. He and Walter Matuza criticized footage that appeared to show Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez laughing during the 25th anniversary ceremony. Matuza, who lost his father on 9/11 and later his vision, called the moment deeply disrespectful and emphasized the 2,973 American victims. Maness also condemned media framings he believes misplace emphasis on Muslim victimhood and urged renewed attention to national security.
Col. Rob Maness Tells Newsmax: U.S. Still At Risk 25 Years After 9/11, Family Members React To Controversial Footage
(Getty Images)
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Rob Maness, a Pentagon attack survivor, told Newsmax that he believes the nation remains in a precarious position similar to Sept. 10, 2001. Speaking on Newsmax's The Count, Maness warned that unvetted ideological threats and what he described as large-scale Islamist immigration continue to endanger Americans.
Maness appeared on the program with Walter Matuza, whose father was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Both reacted strongly to footage from the 25th anniversary commemorative ceremony that appeared to show New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., laughing as relatives read the names of nearly 3,000 people killed.
"It makes me very angry. It is telling of who he is. It's very disrespectful," Matuza said of Mayor Mamdani, calling the exchange "a slap in the face" to families. Matuza added that he is legally blind after losing his vision months after his father's death and that he heard, rather than saw, the interaction; he said Mamdani appeared to be "enjoying the pain" of grieving relatives.
Relatives of victims had previously delivered a petition with more than 102,000 signatures urging Mamdani to skip the ceremony because of his policy positions and past remarks. Maness said the episode reflected a wider shift in national sentiment and recalled that former President George W. Bush had described Islam as "a religion of peace" shortly after the attacks, referencing Bush's Sept. 17, 2001 remarks at the Islamic Center of Washington.
On the program, Maness argued that Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez "represent ideologies" that he believes are opposed to American founding principles and that these ideologies threaten future generations. He also criticized media narratives that, in his view, emphasize Muslim victimhood at the expense of American victims.
Addressing a separate viral confrontation near Ground Zero, the show discussed a street exchange in which a firefighter confronted a pro-Palestinian demonstrator and said, "go back to Palestine," while invoking Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez, former President Barack Obama and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Matuza responded by emphasizing the human toll of 9/11: "The real victims are the 2,973 Americans who were killed that day," he said. "Those planes were aimed at Americans."
Maness characterized continued media framings that he sees as centering Muslim victimhood as "traitorous and treacherous" toward the memory of those who died. He further warned that the country faces ongoing ideological threats, saying, "In many ways we are at September 10, 2001," and asserting that immigration and vetting failures have permitted dangerous individuals to enter the U.S. The program also quoted Maness dismissing the use of the term "Islamophobia" as a way, in his words, to divert attention from security concerns.
The discussion on Newsmax combined personal testimony from a 9/11 family member with political commentary and security warnings. The exchange highlights ongoing disputes over public commemoration, political rhetoric and how the country should assess and address threats more than two decades after the attacks.
Help us improve.
