New York. The United States remembered the lives lost and transformed by the Sept. 11 attacks on Wednesday, on an anniversary surrounded by the politics of the presidential campaign as President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stood together at Ground Zero on Wednesday.
Sept. 11 — the date when two hijacked airliners attacked in 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people — falls in the middle of the election season every four years, and this time it comes at an especially acute moment. The anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center brought Harris and Trump, the Democratic and Republican nominees respectively, face to face just hours after their first debate on Tuesday night.
Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, arrived at the venue around 8 a.m. and took photos with some members of the audience. Harris arrived with Biden about a half-hour later, to cheers of “Kamala!” from some audience members.
Biden and Trump shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg stepped in to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump. The presidential rivals then stood a few feet apart, with Biden and Bloomberg between them, as the ceremony began with a bell ringing and a moment of silence.
The political backdrop was not the most important thing for victims’ relatives, like Cathy Naughton, who came to honor her cousin, Michael Roberts, one of hundreds of firefighters killed in the attack.
Twenty-three years later, “it’s so raw,” she said. “We want to make sure people always remember, and always say the names, and never forget.”
“It doesn’t get easier with each passing year,” he added.
#Biden #Harris #Trump #commemorate #23rd #anniversary
– 2024-09-17 15:42:06
