In fewer than fifty days, America will mark a solemn milestone — twenty-five years since the worst terrorist attack on our soil. Nearly 3,000 innocent lives were snuffed out that bright September morning, and the obligation to honor their memory with dignity and moral seriousness has never wavered. Or at least, it shouldn’t have.

Yet something corrosive has taken hold in American public life. A creeping refusal among certain elected leaders to plainly condemn the ideologies that fueled the attacks. A squeamishness about calling evil what it is. Twenty-five years ago, that kind of cowardice would have been career-ending. Now tens of thousands of Americans are demanding accountability — and the movement is picking up steam fast.

From The Post Millennial:

Actress Patricia Heaton has thrown her support behind a growing campaign demanding New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani be barred from attending this year’s 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11 terrorist attacks at Ground Zero.

The “Everybody Loves Raymond” star shared the petition organized by families of 9/11 victims with her more than 500,000 followers on X, urging supporters: “Keep it going New Yorkers.” The petition has attracted nearly 45,000 signatures and argues that Mamdani should not attend the solemn anniversary because of his positions on issues related to Israel and terrorism.

Good for her. Seriously.

A rare breed in Hollywood

In an entertainment industry that rewards ideological conformity the way teachers hand out participation trophies, Patricia Heaton has never played along. The 68-year-old actress has spent years championing traditional values while her peers either stayed silent or sprinted in the opposite direction. Her decision to amplify this petition is entirely consistent with who she’s always been.

What gives Heaton’s stance real weight is that it isn’t theoretical. She was physically in New York City on September 11, 2001, with her “Everybody Loves Raymond” castmates. She watched the horror unfold in real time. “It was a terrifying experience,” she wrote in a 2024 remembrance on X, before drawing a connection that too many public figures refuse to acknowledge: “The same terrorists are back in full force, this time going after Israel, but really they’re going after all of us.”

She didn’t stop there. “Anyone who calls for Israel to lay down its arms, you are supporting the same people who took down the Twin Towers.” No hedging. No weasel words. Just the truth, stated plainly. That kind of backbone is vanishingly rare in her profession.

The people who actually lost someone

The celebrity endorsement matters, but the beating heart of this campaign is Giovanni Galante. He’s 55 years old. He lost his wife Grace when the towers came down. He started the Change.org petition demanding Mamdani stay away from Ground Zero on the anniversary, and his reasoning is devastating in its simplicity.

The petition argues the ceremony should remain “grounded in shared American values: respect for the victims, recognition of the gravity of the attacks, and a clear rejection of the ideologies that contributed to such violence.”

One signatory was less diplomatic: “I am incensed that a terrorist excuser is now Mayor, and outspoken sympathizer for terrorist perpetrators. He is disqualified from attending the 9/11 remembrance ceremony and ought to be barred.”

Forty-five thousand signatures and climbing. These aren’t lobbyists or party operatives. They’re Americans who remember what that day cost.

A record that speaks for itself

The petitioners’ objections to Mamdani aren’t rooted in vague discomfort. They’re rooted in his own record. The mayor has shown a conspicuous reluctance to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.” His chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, previously represented convicted al-Qaeda operative Ahmed al-Darbi. Read that again if you need to.

Confronted with the families’ wishes, Mamdani simply brushed them aside, announcing he plans to “proudly honor” the victims by “standing alongside them” in September. The widows, the orphans, the survivors are telling him his presence is an insult — and his response is to pat himself on the back. Remarkable.

Patricia Heaton sees it. The 9/11 families see it. Forty-five thousand petition signers see it. The 25th anniversary of September 11 belongs to the people who buried their loved ones and the first responders who ran toward the flames. Protecting that sacred ground means having the spine to say that those who equivocate about the evil that murdered 3,000 Americans have no business standing at their memorial. Not this year. Not any year.

Key Takeaways

• Patricia Heaton backed a 45,000-signature petition to bar Mayor Mamdani from the 9/11 anniversary ceremony.
• The petition was launched by Giovanni Galante, who lost his wife Grace in the attacks.
• Mamdani’s record — including his counsel’s ties to a convicted al-Qaeda operative — fuels the outcry.
• The 25th anniversary belongs to the families, not politicians who equivocate on terror.

Sources: The Post Millennial, New York Post