A BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF OUR COUNTRY

Mike Rogers takes the stage at the Republican National Convention

DETROIT, MI – Army veteran, former FBI agent, former House Intelligence Committee Chairman, and candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers today delivered remarks at the RNC 2026 National Convention in Dallas, Texas. He emphasized Abdul El-Sayed’s ties to the same terrorists and forces that attacked the United States twenty-five years ago.

You can watch his remarks here or read the full transcript below:

“America, I’m here tonight as a proud son of Michigan — and a product of the American Dream.

I grew up in a working-class family in Livingston County. My dad was a shop teacher. My mom ran the local Chamber of Commerce.

They taught us that in America, if you worked hard, played by the rules, and never quit, there was no limit to what you could become.

That promise took me from the factory floor, where I worked to help pay my way through college, to the United States Army.

It took me to the FBI, where I hunted mobsters, human traffickers, and terrorists.

And eventually, it took the son of a Michigan shop teacher all the way to Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

That’s the American Dream.

And in 54 days, that dream is on the ballot.

Twenty-five years ago, terrorists tried to turn that same dream into a nightmare.

They murdered nearly 3,000 innocent people.

They flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and attacked the Pentagon.

But when terrorists hijacked Flight 93, intending to bring death and destruction to our Capitol, a brave Michigander named Todd Beamer called his family and told them he loved them, and inspired a nation when he told his fellow passengers, “Let’s Roll” …  taking down that plane down in a Pennsylvania field.

I was at the United States Capitol that morning. Todd saved countless others.

Through all of the fear and uncertainty, we knew America had been attacked.

And the enemy had a name.

Radical Islamic terrorism.

I have spent much of my life confronting this enemy — head on. I know what they are capable of.

And I know what happens when America becomes afraid to call evil by its name.

That’s why I never imagined that twenty-five years after 9/11, I would be running against someone that campaigns with Hasan Piker, who thinks America deserved it.

But here we are.

Abdul El-Sayed has chosen Hasan as his running mate. Together, they attack America, excuse extremism, and treat our country like the villain.

And it doesn’t stop there. Abdul is funding his campaign with money from terrorist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.

Abdul says he “wants money out of politics” … unless that money comes from recognized terrorist organizations.

Folks, this isn’t just another Senate race.

This election is about the soul of our country.

It’s about American values. Our ability to work hard. Raise your family. Worship freely. Speak your mind. Build something of your own. And leave your kids a better America than the one you inherited.

And it is about who you stand with when that American way of life is threatened.

We saw that tested right here in Michigan.

When a terrorist targeted a synagogue with 140 children inside, what did Abdul El-Sayed have to say?

“Hurt people hurt people.”

A man attacks a school to kill children … in the name Hezbollah.

And Abdul's instinct was to excuse it.

No.

Terror is terror.

Evil is evil.

And when someone tries to blow up children, we don’t want a politician explaining away the terrorist’s motivations.

Michigan needs a Senator fighting for the victims.

You don’t sympathize with terrorists.

You don’t sanitize extremism.

And you sure don’t ask the people of Michigan to send you to the United States Senate while surrounding yourself with people who despise America.

Abdul El-Sayed may be comfortable with that crowd. I’m not.

He’s a conman. I’m a lawman.

He wants to apologize for America. I want to defend America.

He wants to represent Palestine. I want to represent Michigan.

And when radical Islamic terrorists threaten Americans, we don’t need a Senator searching for excuses. We need one hunting them.

Because September 11th wasn’t something we deserved, no matter what El-Sayed’s buddies say.

And thousands of courageous American men and women put on the uniform and went into harm’s way to make sure it could never happen again.

We owe them a country that knows our values are worth preserving — and that our way of life is worth defending.

That the American Dream is never more than a generation away from being lost.

Twenty-five years later, the attacks on our way of life have not disappeared.

So neither can America’s resolve.

We need secure borders.

We need the strongest military on Earth.

And we need leaders with the courage to say that terrorism has no place in Michigan and that our American values are worth preserving.

God Bless the men and women who defend us. God bless Michigan.

And God Bless the United States of America.

Let’s Get to Work!

Let’s Roll!

Learn more about Mike Rogers and his plan to Get Michigan Working Again at RogersForSenate.com.

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