Hillary Clinton warned that the US has let its guard down on terrorism 25 years after the 9/11 attacks, stating that there are still thousands of extremists who pose a threat to the country. According to Clinton, the Trump administration is not doing enough to monitor and thwart terrorist threats, citing internal divisions and lack of resources within the government. She specifically criticized President Trump's focus on building a White House ballroom over addressing intelligence from Afghanistan. The US Department of Homeland Security responded by saying it is equipped to keep Americans safe in an ever-changing threat landscape.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On October 8, 2024, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed, an event that has become a significant marker for young conservatives in America, akin to September 11, 2001 and the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. The day of his death is now referred to by some as 9/10, symbolizing its impact on political activism among students. Meanwhile, the small Canadian town of Gander played a pivotal role during the September 11 attacks when U.S. airspace was closed, leading to 38 international flights landing there, doubling the population overnight and necessitating an impromptu humanitarian effort by locals to aid around 7,000 stranded passengers and crew members for several days. This act of kindness inspired the Broadway musical "Come From Away," which highlights Gander's generosity and humanity in times of crisis.
Written for “9/11 Anniversary Reflections” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 167 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.75, but none of the 3 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 7697: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-11
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Thursday that the Trump administration isn’t doing enough to monitor and thwart terrorists who still pose a threat to the U.S., 25 years after the 9/11 attacks.
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who → warn → attacks
“I worry a lot that we’ve let down our guard on counterterrorism, and I don’t say this to scare anybody or to exaggerate, but I think we are not paying enough attention to resurgent terrorist actions,” Clinton said in an interview with NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell at the VOICES 25th Anniversary Symposium, an event reflecting on the attacks.
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Clinton → worry → attacks
Clinton, who was a U.S. senator from New York on 9/11, said that there have been many “close calls” with terrorist plots in the ensuing quarter century and some that succeeded.
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that → say → century
“The threat did not go away — it receded — but it is still there, and there are still many thousands of extremists in the world who wish us a great deal of ill,” she said.
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she → go → ill
Clinton argued that the U.S. needs to overcome its internal divisions and confront threats from both nation-state adversaries, like Russia, China and Iran, and nonstate adversaries, like terrorist groups.
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U.S. → argue → groups
She lashed out at President Donald Trump for spending so much attention on his planned White House ballroom.
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She → lash → ballroom
“When you’re more interested in building your ballroom than figuring out what the intelligence is coming out of Afghanistan — that is absolutely contrary to any kind of sensible decision-making,” she said.
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she → ’re → making
Clinton accused the Trump administration of dismantling parts of the federal government, including within the State Department, that traditionally collected intelligence and evaluated these terrorist threats.
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that → accuse → threats
As a result, she said, the U.S. doesn’t have “eyes and ears in a lot of these countries,” including in western Africa, where she said extremism is taking hold.
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extremism → say → hold
The administration cut thousands of jobs across the federal government last year as part of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency effort, including at the CIA and the State Department.
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administration → cut → CIA
“I am increasingly concerned because I don’t think we are focused.
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we → think → ?
I know there are very dedicated people still in the government, you know, in the FBI, in the intelligence agencies.
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you → know → agencies
I understand that,” she said.
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she → understand → that
“But they don’t have ... the resources, and they’re not given the kind of mission focus that they need right now to adequately do their jobs.”
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they → have → jobs
Reached for comment, the White House referred NBC News to the Department of Homeland Security.
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House → reach → Security
A spokesperson for DHS told NBC News in an email: “Despite multiple Democrat shutdowns of DHS, the Department is more than equipped to keep Americans safe in an ever-changing threat landscape.
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Department → tell → landscape
DHS has been recruiting, reforming, and modernizing at a record pace—including in areas of counterterrorism.”
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DHS → recruit → counterterrorism
During the interview, Clinton also reflected on the revelations about the toxic air quality in Manhattan after 9/11, recalling her experience at ground zero.
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Clinton → reflect → ground
“It looked like a black curtain,” she said.
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she → look → curtain
There was, you know, acrid smells.
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you → be → ?
My throat hurt.”
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throat → hurt → ?
Asked if misleading information about the air from the Bush administration at the time was deliberate, bad science or an effort to reassure the public, Clinton said it was “all three.”
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it → ask → public
“I think that there was a certain element of some leaders being unwilling to face the truth because they wanted to get the economy going,” she said.
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she → think → truth
“They wanted to get Wall Street open.
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Street → want → ?
They wanted people to feel like normalcy was possible, and so they either deliberately ignored or they didn’t ask the right questions.
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they → want → questions
She also responded to Jon Stewart, comedian and 9/11 health advocate, who said that the U.S. has lost nearly 10,000 people to 9/11-related illnesses, which is three times as many people as the nearly 3,000 killed in the twin towers.
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which → respond → towers
Addressing the fact that there are people experiencing these health effects that aren’t registered for programs intended to help these victims, Clinton said, “There needs to be a concerted effort to fund this expanded outreach and screening and treatment.
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Clinton → address → outreach
And I would hope that the city, the state and the federal government would join together to do that.”
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city → hope → that
