U.S. President Joe Biden greets as he walks toward Marine One before leaving the southern lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 10, 2021, as he travels to New York City and Pennsylvania to commemorate the upcoming 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden will commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States on Saturday by visiting each of the sites where the hijacked planes crashed in 2001, seeking to honor the victims of the devastating assault.
Biden will begin the day in New York, where he will attend a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. EDT at the site of the World Trade Center’s twin towers before the planes hit the two buildings and caused them to collapse.
He will then travel to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed into a field after passengers overtook the hijackers and prevented another target from being hit.
Eventually, Biden will return to the Washington area to visit the Pentagon, the symbol of U.S. military force that was crossed by another of the planes that were used as missiles that day.
The anniversary comes shortly after the end of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, launched about 20 years ago to root out Al Qaeda, which carried out the 9/11 attacks.
Biden’s withdrawal from US troops in August, months after the deadline set by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, and the country’s consequent rapid fall on the Taliban has provoked criticism from members of both political parties.
Biden has no plans to comment on any of the sites, but on Friday released a video to express his condolences to the loved ones of the victims and highlight the national unity that resulted, at least initially, after 9/11.
“It’s so hard. Whether it’s the first year or the 20th, kids have grown up without parents and parents have suffered without children,” Biden said.
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The president noted the heroism that was seen in the days following the attacks.
“We also saw something too weird: a true sense of national unity,” Biden said.
Biden, a Democrat, pledged to build that unit after taking office earlier this year, but the country remains deeply divided politically.
U.S. presidents usually travel to one of the three attack sites during the 9/11 anniversary, but it is unusual for all three to attend on the same day.
“The president considered it important to visit each of these three places to commemorate the lives lost, the sacrifices made in a day that has affected millions of people across the country, but certainly many people in these communities,” he said. say White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Friday.
Biden finds himself comfortably in the role of dildo chief after suffering tragic family losses.
“It doesn’t matter how much time has passed, and these commemorations bring it all back painfully, as if they just received the news a few seconds ago. And so, that day, Jill and I keep you tightly closed and send you our love,” he said. say in the video remarks, referring to his wife, Jill Biden.
Last month, many families of 9/11 victims asked Biden to skip 20-year commemorative events unless the declassified documents they support show that Saudi leaders supported the attacks. Last week, the president ordered the Justice Department to review FBI investigation documents on attacks for declassification and release.