Fox & Friends' host wonders if 9/11 monuments will eventually go the way of Confederate statues

"Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade on Monday compared 9/11 memorials to Confederate statues and wondered if those remembrances of the attack on the U.S., too, would eventually be dismantled.

Kilmeade interviewed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday, which marked the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 American citizens.

Kilmeade's concerns

During his discussion with Zinke, Kilmeade wondered if, one day, the memorial to the victims of United Airlines Flight 93 — a passenger plane forcibly flown into the ground by Americans after terrorists attempted to hijack the flight and presumably crash it into the White House — would be removed.

The Flight 93 National Monument was erected in dedication to those passengers who were responsible for crashing the plane in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"Do you worry 100 years from now someone's going to try to take that memorial down like they're trying to remake our memorials today?" Kilmeade asked Zinke.

Zinke's response

Zinke said that he believed that passengers on Flight 93 are an "example of America sticking together."

"I'm one who believes, you know, that we should learn from history," Zinke said. "And I think our monuments are a part of our country's history."

He added, "Since we don't put up statues of Jesus, everyone is going to fall morally short."

Zinke concluded his somewhat evasive answer by saying that he is an advocate of learning from American monuments.

"I think reflecting on our history, both good and bad, is a powerful statement and part of our DNA," he said.

"I'm an advocate, again, of learning from our monuments, understanding the period they were made," Zinke added. "But also we live in a great country and monuments are not Republican, Democrat, or independent."

"Monuments are a tribute to all of us," he concluded.

Other 9/11-Confederate monument comparisons

Gov. Paul LePage (R-Maine) during an interview in August addressed the removal of Confederate monuments, comparing them to 9/11 monuments.

LePage admitted that he felt that removing Confederate statues was an attempt to "erase history" and compared Confederate statues to monuments dedicated to lives lost in the 9/11 disaster.

LePage discussed the removal of a statue commemorating Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and said future generations cannot learn if monuments of this type are removed.

"Listen, whether we like it or not, this is what our history is," LePage said, referring to Confederate monuments and their history.

"To me, it's just like going to New York City right now and taking down the monument of those who perished in 9/11," he said. "It will come to that."

Fox & Friends seriously just compared a 9/11 memorial to Confederate statues, asking if we'll be tearing down 9/11 memorials in 100 years: pic.twitter.com/Y5Xg1dsB0d

— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) September 11, 2017