Latest / Sid & Friends In The Morning / Elizabeth Miller | Project Director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Defends Mamdani's Attendance at Ground Zero

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Elizabeth Miller | Project Director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Defends Mamdani's Attendance at Ground Zero · Sid & Friends In The Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I promise you I would divert my attention focus on
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: nine to eleven, and I've done that, and I want
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: to keep this mayor away and the overwhelming majority of
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  Speaker 1: people I speak to in this city, and I'm very.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Famous, I speak to a lot of people. They agree
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  Speaker 2: nine to eleven families.
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  Speaker 1: And just every person walking in the street, but not
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  Speaker 1: every single person does. So I was surprised to hear
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  Speaker 1: on the news a couple of days ago this young lady,
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  Speaker 1: Elizabeth Miller, God bless her, her father, God rest his soul,
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  Speaker 1: was killed on nine to eleven a firefighter. I don't
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  Speaker 1: know mister Miller, but I can tell you this. I
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  Speaker 1: love him. New York loves something, America loves him. So
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  Speaker 1: I was surprised to hear that she's.
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  Speaker 2: Okay with the mayor being in attendance.
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  Speaker 1: Even though the mayor hangs out with people Hassan Piker, Chevalier,
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  Speaker 1: clerics who were co conspirators and the bombing of the
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  Speaker 1: World Trade Center in nineteen ninety three, hangs out with them,
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  Speaker 1: says nice things about them. This is not just the
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  Speaker 1: everyday politician you disagree with. This guy is friendly with
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  Speaker 1: says nice things about people who said America deserved.
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  Speaker 2: Nine to eleven. I'm sorry he shouldn't be there.
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  Speaker 1: But Liz Miller, who's closer to the situation, she lost
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  Speaker 1: her relative by lost friends, she says, it's okay, let's
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  Speaker 1: talk to her. Elizabeth, good morning.
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  Speaker 2: How are you?
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  Speaker 3: Good morning? How are you? Thank you for taking the
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  Speaker 3: time to talk to me.
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  Speaker 1: No, no, of course. First of all, what can I say?
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  Speaker 1: You know your father, God rest his soul. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: New Yorkers love him, Americans love him. I didn't know
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  Speaker 1: the man personally, but I'm sure he was a wonderful,
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  Speaker 1: wonderful guy. So I just want to thank you for
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  Speaker 1: the service that your dad.
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  Speaker 2: Gave to this.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. He was definitely a true hero. And I always
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: say my mom was an even bigger hero that she
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  Speaker 3: raised three crazy little girls by herself.
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  Speaker 2: Wow, is your mom so alive? Is she still with us?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah?
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  Speaker 2: Thank god?
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  Speaker 3: My mom's still here. Yeah, my three sisters still well.
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  Speaker 3: I'm one of three. We're all still here and doing well.
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  Speaker 2: Well. How old are you now?
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  Speaker 3: I am thirty one. I'll be thirty two in December.
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  Speaker 2: So you were a baby, Lizzie, were like five or
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  Speaker 2: six years old?
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  Speaker 3: I was six yep. Turning seven.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have any memories at that Yeah, I mean
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  Speaker 1: you're old enough at that point to remember memory.
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  Speaker 3: I actually have a lot. I actually lost to twoth
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  Speaker 3: on September eleventh, So it's like, we like laugh about
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  Speaker 3: it now that I brought home a certificate that said, oh,
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: Elizabeth Miller lost the tooth, but little did I know,
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  Speaker 3: I was, of course losing a lot more. But that's
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  Speaker 3: like one thing we laugh about years later.
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  Speaker 2: Well that is kind of cute. It is kind of funny.
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  Speaker 3: So oh, you got to like you gotta find the
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  Speaker 3: humor and.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, and when where did you live? Where'd you guys
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  Speaker 2: grow up?
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  Speaker 3: I grew up in Port Jervis, New York, which is
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  Speaker 3: about an hour thirty forty minutes from the city, so
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  Speaker 3: kind of removed, very small town vibe. I know it
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  Speaker 3: was everybody knows everybody.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know it. Well, So your dad was part
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  Speaker 2: of what ladder? What what station? What group? Do you
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  Speaker 2: remember he worked?
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  Speaker 3: He worked to Rescue five, which is pretty incredible because
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  Speaker 3: he was thirty four years old, which is pretty young,
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  Speaker 3: you know, as a fireman, and that he was already
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: in a rescue company was pretty cool.
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  Speaker 2: Now, what do you do for a living. You sound
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  Speaker 2: very bright. I mean, you really do.
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  Speaker 3: What do you do for a living? I do run
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  Speaker 3: the nonprofit September eleventh, Families for Peaceful Tomorrow's. I actually
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  Speaker 3: was a counseled person in the city of Port Jervis
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  Speaker 3: in my prior life. But I've actually studied terrorism and
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  Speaker 3: al Qaida and all things nine to eleven, the case
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  Speaker 3: at Guantanamo. I've been doing that since I was about
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  Speaker 3: eighteen years old.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so you know what you're talking about, but you
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  Speaker 1: do realize I think I just spoke about this group,
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: and this is where the conversation macat a little contentious.
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  Speaker 1: I love you, don't get mad at me, but is
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  Speaker 1: that not the group that George Soros funds.
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  Speaker 3: So Open Society Foundations was like a funder of Peaceful
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  Speaker 3: Tomorrows for years past, but not since I've come on.
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  Speaker 3: I only joined in twenty twenty because again I was
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  Speaker 3: six on September eleventh, And it wasn't, of course, like
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  Speaker 3: we ever had direct conversations with Demand. It was through
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  Speaker 3: the Open Society Foundation. We are not funded by by
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  Speaker 3: them anymore. And there was actually something else in the
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  Speaker 3: paper so that we get like all sorts of money
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  Speaker 3: like our operating budgets like one hundred and fifty thousand
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  Speaker 3: dollars a year, which basically just covers like a zoom
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  Speaker 3: account website like housekeeping, right, you know?
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  Speaker 2: So?
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  Speaker 1: So yeah so, And I don't want to put words
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  Speaker 1: in your mouth. So you're not okay with George Soros.
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  Speaker 1: You're not.
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  Speaker 3: I to be honest, I don't spend enough time like
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  Speaker 3: digging into demand. That's one thing I wouldn't comment on.
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  Speaker 3: I just we maybe will have to have a follow
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  Speaker 3: up conversation.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So are you the type Elizabeth Miller that doesn't
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  Speaker 1: talk politics, because while you're lovely, these are mutually exclusive.
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  Speaker 1: I'm getting up only about you may be a Democrat,
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  Speaker 1: and Democrats would tend to be more open to having
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  Speaker 1: this horrible mayor down at that site than Republicans like me.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm going to guess, and if you don't want
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  Speaker 1: to answer, that's up to you. But it sounds to
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  Speaker 1: me like you may be a Democrat.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: Am I wrong?
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  Speaker 3: Oh that's okay, Yes, I was. I am a Democrat.
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  Speaker 3: I usually do vote left. Doesn't say It doesn't mean
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  Speaker 3: that I don't have respect for a lot of Republican candidates.
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  Speaker 3: In years past, and listen, I think disagreement makes the
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  Speaker 3: world go around. I think we learned from each other
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  Speaker 3: when we're uncomfortable and we have some of these uncomfortable conversations,
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  Speaker 3: which I think is why I was so excited for
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  Speaker 3: the opportunity to talk to you, because you know, I've
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  Speaker 3: heard some of your viewpoints, and I'm you know right
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  Speaker 3: where you're coming from.
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  Speaker 2: All right, I'm rough right, You're a New Yorker.
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  Speaker 3: It's nothing. I'm there.
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  Speaker 1: You go, No, you're right. So if you were living,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: let's say, in Brooklyn, all the city and not Long Island,
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  Speaker 1: would you have voted for mom? Donnie, I'm not going
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  Speaker 1: to hold this against you. Promise would you vote a brand?
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  Speaker 3: Yes?
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  Speaker 2: I would have.
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  Speaker 3: You would have Okay, I won't lie to you. Yes,
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  Speaker 3: I would have.
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  Speaker 1: No Now now listen, I'm Jewish and I hate them
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  Speaker 1: man like I hate them with a If you've watched
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  Speaker 1: me and listened to me, like I really hate him,
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  Speaker 1: like not a bad man happened to him and his wife?
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  Speaker 2: That's so much a his guts? What what do you
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: like about him? Why would you have voted for him?
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  Speaker 3: So for me, I'm a big believer in like neighbor
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  Speaker 3: politics and leading with compassion and kindness. And I don't
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: think leading with and listen, this isn't just like about
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  Speaker 3: him specifically. I think it's just in general. But like,
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  Speaker 3: leading with compassion shouldn't be a radical concept, and I think,
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  Speaker 3: unfortunately like sometimes it is. I'm a like I said,
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  Speaker 3: I'm a big believer in like. I love having conversations
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  Speaker 3: across the aisle because I'm not going to discount you
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  Speaker 3: based on who you voted for. I want to get
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  Speaker 3: to know who you are at your heart.
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  Speaker 1: You're not Alan, You're not But he's not compassionate, his
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: wife celebrated October the seventh. I mean, I assume you
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  Speaker 1: know who Hassan Piker is. So not only did Hassan Piker,
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  Speaker 1: his best friend, by his own admission, say America deserved
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  Speaker 1: nine to eleven, your father deserve to die. Your father
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  Speaker 1: deserve to die that day, According to Hassan Piker, not
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  Speaker 1: only did his friend say that, but miss them. Donnie
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  Speaker 1: was sitting right there as a guest on Piker's podcast,
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  Speaker 1: and Elizabeth he offered no pushback, zero pushback. So when
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  Speaker 1: the guy says your father deserved to die, and this
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  Speaker 1: mayor sits there and doesn't say a word and hasn't since.
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  Speaker 2: How is that okay?
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  Speaker 3: From what I know, I think that he has said
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  Speaker 3: that it was reprehensible after the facts. And I think
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  Speaker 3: the other thing is we're all a little guilty sometimes
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  Speaker 3: by association. Like my mother always says, sometimes you lay
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  Speaker 3: with dogs, you get fleas, and sometimes we're all a
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  Speaker 3: little guilty of laying with a dog from time to time.
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  Speaker 2: He lays with a whole pound. It's not just a dog.
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  Speaker 1: He's got clerics, smiling selpies in the streets that blew
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  Speaker 1: up the Royal Trade Center. He's got his wife who's
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  Speaker 1: a bile, wretched person. He's got Chevalier, he just endorsed her,
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  Speaker 1: who wiped her dirty hands with an American flag.
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  Speaker 2: He doesn't associate with one guy.
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  Speaker 1: Everybody he associates sequent they either hate the Jews, hate
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  Speaker 1: is Ruel, or hate America.
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  Speaker 2: All of them, Elizabeth, all of them well.
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  Speaker 3: And I will say, I am not a New Yorker
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  Speaker 3: like in the city, so I don't follow all of
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  Speaker 3: these things as closely. I don't follow all of his
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  Speaker 3: policies as closely. Of course, during the election time I
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  Speaker 3: was interested, But I think For me, the biggest issue
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  Speaker 3: is that, like, I'm not going to sit here and
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  Speaker 3: tell you how to feel about the man. I think
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  Speaker 3: you know, how you feel is important and it's valid,
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  Speaker 3: and I would never discount your feelings, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: I would hope mine wouldn't be discounted. I think that
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  Speaker 3: we've just reached a point, like there's so much that
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  Speaker 3: goes on with nine to eleven that like we still
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  Speaker 3: don't even know some of the like who, what, where,
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  Speaker 3: when and why, and like you just referred to like
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  Speaker 3: these clerics, they're not from my research and what I've done,
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  Speaker 3: Like they didn't have a hand in nine to eleven.
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  Speaker 3: I've been researching nine to eleven again my whole life
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  Speaker 3: to try to get a grip on like how did
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  Speaker 3: I end up here? Like how the hell is this
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  Speaker 3: my life? And I think that sometimes some of this,
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  Speaker 3: like politics, overshadows the real issues I think that are
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: still happening twenty five years later, like Gipmo, like everything
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  Speaker 3: at Bontonomal if there's still five men accused in including
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  Speaker 3: the mastermind, Cleude Sjae Muhammad, who isn't sentenced. He's not
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  Speaker 3: considered guilty yet as of this point, like that breaks
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  Speaker 3: my heart.
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  Speaker 2: No, don't break your heart of a Saik Mohammad trust me. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: he's not deserving or that type of sympathy.
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  Speaker 1: No, no, no, I understand, you know, the Innocents Project,
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Fantastic Way to Go, Barryshek and those types of people.
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  Speaker 1: But certain people don't deserve that level of sympathy, and
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  Speaker 1: he's one of them. I mean, I'll say this to you.
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  Speaker 1: You made the point that you don't want the focus
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  Speaker 1: to be on anybody but the families and the victims,
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  Speaker 1: and boy do I agree, but you will. But you
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  Speaker 1: know you realize, Elizabit, when that punk shows up that day,
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  Speaker 1: he's gonna get all all the attention, every camera shot.
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  Speaker 1: Family members will turn their backs, politicians will shine in
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  Speaker 1: all they're going to talk about that day.
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  Speaker 2: If this guy shows up is him?
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  Speaker 1: If he's not there, guess what at the beginning of
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  Speaker 1: the telecast and maybe the beginning of your ceremony, they'll.
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  Speaker 2: Go, no, Mayor, that'll be it. If he's there, he's
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  Speaker 2: going to demand all the attention. Why would you want that?
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  Speaker 3: I think people are a lot of talk. I think
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  Speaker 3: people ask like like and I'm not saying nihilon families.
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  Speaker 3: I'm saying, like politicians, so like you're going to have
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  Speaker 3: him come, and I think I think about this when
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  Speaker 3: President Trump had individuals like when signed you know, the petition,
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  Speaker 3: that he didn't want it. They didn't want him there,
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: and again it wasn't of course as large, but he
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: still came and the day wasn't about him. And listen,
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  Speaker 3: I'm a firm believer, regardless of who you are as
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  Speaker 3: an elected official, I'm grateful that you want to take
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  Speaker 3: the opportunity to sit there and honor our loved ones.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: Whether I like you, whether I don't, whether I agree
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: with all of your policies, whether I don't, I think
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: the other thing.
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  Speaker 2: I'm you think that you think you're very smart girl.
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  Speaker 2: You are. I'm not just I'm not patronizing you people, yell.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: I don't feel like you are.
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  Speaker 2: But do you think that the.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: Mayor is honoring your loved once He couldn't care less
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  Speaker 1: that your father dead, and I know that sounds really rough.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: He couldn't care less.
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  Speaker 1: He's showing up because he's still trying to snow people
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  Speaker 1: that he actually cares about this country, which he doesn't.
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  Speaker 2: He's not dead, honor your father. He couldn't care less.
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  Speaker 1: He would much rather honor Mohammed Atta whole flew the
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: damn plane into the building.
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  Speaker 3: I think, well, like, again, this is where we disagree,
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  Speaker 3: and I think that's okay. I think that he would
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  Speaker 3: honor my dad. Again, I didn't vote for for President Trump.
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: I think President Trump would be honoring my dad. I
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: think there are some other individuals. I think that any
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: politician or government And that's the other thing. He's a
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: government official, so once they become elected, they are the representative.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Whether we like that or not. What at all?
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  Speaker 1: Not another not he makes decisions for the city. But
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  Speaker 1: he wasn't even he wasn't even here in the United
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  Speaker 1: States when your dad, God rest his soul, died. He
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: doesn't he doesn't. You have to earn that he wasn't
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: even here. So a bunch of silly people voter with him.
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  Speaker 1: That makes him deserve of being down there at that
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  Speaker 1: sacred site.
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  Speaker 2: No, I don't believe in that. You gotta run that
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: he hasn't earned it.
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  Speaker 3: What I'm saying is like, legally, technically he's a government
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: official at the moment, you know, That's what I'm talking about.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: On the ground level, and so like think about all
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: that Mayor Bloomberg has done for the museum in years
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: past and helping with the financials and everything like that.
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: And so the other thing is what do you do
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: if the government officials and politicians can't come. So it's
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: like this is like a really big honest conversation that means, oh,
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: it's there should have been from the start. He should
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: be allowed and who shouldn't.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: What's it going to cost me to have you turn
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: your back on him? How much? Come on? Or at least?
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: I mean if I took you off a lunch, you
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: a dinner and sat with you for an hour because
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: you're also curious. I like that about you. Trust me, you.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Would have a change of heart. You really would, because
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: I think you do want to know you've got a
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: thirst phonologe. You admitted I'm on Long Island. I'm not
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: paying go on that much attention.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: If you sat with me for an hour, you'd be
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: scared to death.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: Honestly, I don't think so. I think that we'd have
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: some good conversation.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: I'm not me, I mean of the mayor. No, not
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: of me. Of the mayor. No, you and I get
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: along great. You'd be like Oh my god, you're right.
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: I don't scare. I really don't scare. Easy. We will
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: have to go to lunch. We can check. I don't
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: scare too either.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: Oh I could see that. Listen. You're a terrific young lady.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: You really are. And you know, whether we disagree on this.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: Or not, you are forever a You're a victim here
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: in New York and everybody who was alive and around
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: that day, and I was, and I experienced a whole thing.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: We love you, and we certainly love your father. So
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: we can get past this conversation. Just know that all
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: the good, decent New Yorkers and Americans are with you
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: and your mom and your two sisters that day. Okay, sweet,
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: thank you very much.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: Listen, I appreciate that very much, and I appreciate you
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: taking the time to talk about, you know, the anniversary
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: this year, since it is twenty five years, it's pretty
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: monumental and I'm grateful and it's being discussed absolutely.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: God bless you, and God bless your father. Okay, you
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: don't thank you.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you have a wonderful day.
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: You too, Elizabeth, thank you. There she is Elizabeth Miller.
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: We disagree, but it's hard not to like her.
• 14:07
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• 14:10
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• 14:13
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