"We the people." Most Americans recognize the phrase as the opening of the Constitution. But for a nascent group of democracy reformers, the phrase means even more.
The group — named simply The People — gathered for its inaugural national assembly over the weekend, its mission nothing less ambitious than realigning the machinery of democracy so that governments operate much more regularly as true representatives of "we the people."
The People was founded by three individuals who have become well known as advocates for systemic change, in different ways and from different ideologies. Katie Fahey, a 29-year-old Michigander, gained renown last year for organizing the grassroots movement that led to the Michigan referendum ending the politicized gerrymandering of the state. Liberal actor and entrepreneur Andrew Shue promotes activism among young people and gives their civic action campaigns a platform through DoSomething.org. Pollster and consultant Frank Luntz helped engineer a resurgence of conservatism in the 1990s with breakthrough thinking about Republican message discipline.
Together they selected two people from each state who spent parts of three days drafting "The Declaration of The People" — a foundational document describing how the reform group hopes to fix the broken democracy.
They convened Friday evening at the museum of the National Archives, hoping to gain inspiration by viewing the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. They were then exhorted to get to work with optimistic speeches by Fahey and Shue and a more sobering presentation from Luntz. A video of focus groups he's conducted in the past year — some of his subjects were in the audience — displayed a high degree of divisiveness and unwillingness to hear opposing political opinion.
At one point in the film, the pollster asked how many participants had lost friendships because of disagreement about the 2016 election result. Nearly everyone raised a hand, and the crowd watching murmured agreement. Luntz used this to underscore the importance of listening to one another, instead of shutting people out based on background or creed.
How well that advice was heeded will become clearer later in the week, when the convention organizers reveal the details of the organizing document adopted Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.