NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Askume) – U.S. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made a rare joint appearance in New York City on Wednesday to remember the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that resulted in nearly 10 deaths.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee in the November 5 US presidential election, and her Republican rival shook hands and exchanged a few words before lining up for the commemoration despite a contentious debate the night before . The event was also attended by Trump’s fellow senator JD Vance.
There was no official comment from “Ground Zero,” the site where planes struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Instead, wives, husbands, sisters, brothers and grandchildren read the names of family members who were murdered 23 years ago.
The annual ceremony commemorates the suicide attacks by al-Qaeda Islamist militants who crashed two planes into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers stormed the cockpit.
“Richard J. O’Connor. We will always love you and miss you,” a red-haired boy said of his grandfather who was killed at the World Trade Center.
The procession, accompanied by bagpipes and drums, included honor guards from the New York City Fire Department, Police Department, and Port Authority. When each target is attacked, the national anthem is played and a moment of silence is observed.
After leaving New York, Biden and Harris flew to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where passengers on United Flight 93 overpowered the hijackers and crashed the plane into a field, preventing any other targets from being destroyed.
In front of a white marble memorial on the grounds, Biden laid a wreath to offer his condolences to the 40 victims who died in the plane crash. He and Harris were joined by Calvin Wilson, the brother-in-law of Flight 93 co-pilot Leroy Homer Jr.
The President and Vice President spoke with local fire officials from the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department and stopped to view another memorial on a nearby hill, where 40 flags fluttered in the breeze.
There, Biden spoke about the need to restore bipartisan unity in the country and presented a hat to a Trump supporter who gave him a Trump hat, according to spokesman Andrew Bates.
A photo of Biden wearing the hat went viral. The Trump campaign wrote on social media, “Thanks for your support, Joe.”
Biden and Harris later visited a memorial at the Pentagon. They picked up a wreath decorated with red, white and blue, lowered their heads, stood in front of the wreath for a while and then played “Tap Dance.”
“Twenty-three years ago today, terrorists believed they could break our will and subjugate us,” Biden said in a statement.
Trump, who visited the Pennsylvania memorial on Wednesday, told Fox News: “This is a very sad and terrible day. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Earlier, Biden issued a proclamation honoring those killed in the attacks and the millions of Americans who later volunteered for military service.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to these patriots of the 9/11 generation that we can never fully repay,” Biden said, citing deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and other war zones, as well as the capture of Sept. 11 mastermind Osa Albaz and the killing of bin Laden.
