SARASOTA, Fla. (September 11, 2026). On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, independent gubernatorial candidate Dean Abrams spoke about being inside the World Trade Center when the attacks happened, and about the wars that followed.
Abrams saw people jump to their deaths from the towers. Later that day he watched World Trade Center Building 7, a 47-story tower that no plane struck, collapse.
"I was there. I saw people choose to jump rather than burn. That never leaves you," said Abrams. "And I watched Building 7 come down that afternoon without a plane ever hitting it. Americans were told to stop asking questions. I never did."
The attacks launched the Global War on Terror. According to Brown University's Costs of War project:
- More than 940,000 people were killed by direct violence in the post-9/11 wars, including more than 432,000 civilians.
- An estimated 3.6 to 3.8 million more died indirectly, from disease, displacement, and the collapse of food, water, and health systems. The total is at least 4.5 to 4.7 million.
- More than 7,000 U.S. service members died in those wars.
"Twenty-five years later, millions of people are dead, thousands of American families buried their sons and daughters, and the war still has no end date," said Abrams. "We honor the people who died that day by opening our eyes to what was done in their name, demanding the full truth, and ending this war."
Abrams went on to help rebuild New York City's emergency communications after the attacks. He has said 9/11 is one of the reasons he is running for office.
Media contact: Dean Abrams · dean@deanabrams.com · 941-233-4951
About Dean Abrams: Dean Abrams is a No Party Affiliation candidate for Governor of Florida. He spent 30 years in enterprise technology and management consulting, including Microsoft, HP, KPMG, and Avanade. His campaign is self-funded and accepts no PAC or corporate money.