Rare Appearance: Biden, Harris, Trump Meet to Mark 9/11
The Democratic nominee and her Republican rival shook hands and exchanged words despite their contentious debate the night before, then lined up to mark the anniversary of the attacks.
America
US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made a rare joint appearance on Wednesday at the site where two planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City in the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Democratic presidential candidate Harris and her Republican rival Trump shook hands, exchanged words despite their contentious debate the night before, and then lined up to mark the anniversary of the attacks.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump's running mate in his presidential campaign, also attended the ceremony.
Instead of formal speeches, the ceremony at Ground Zero featured relatives reading the names of their loved ones killed 23 years ago.
The annual ceremony commemorates the al-Qaeda suicide attacks that hit Manhattan, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also attended the ceremony, standing between Biden and Trump.
After New York, Biden and Harris will head to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where passengers on a flight overpowered the hijackers and crashed the plane into a field, saving another target from attack. The president and vice president will then return to the Washington area to visit a memorial at the Pentagon.
“On this day 23 years ago, terrorists thought they could break our will and subdue us. They were wrong. They will always be wrong. In the darkest hours, we found the light. In the face of fear, we came together, to defend our country, and to help each other,” Biden said in a statement early Wednesday.
“It was a very sad and terrible day. Nothing like it has ever happened before,” Trump, who also plans to visit the memorial in Pennsylvania, told Fox News on Wednesday.
Biden earlier issued a proclamation honoring those who died in the attacks, as well as the hundreds of thousands of Americans who volunteered for military service afterward.
“We owe these patriots of the 9/11 generation a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay,” Biden said. He spoke of sending troops to Afghanistan, Iraq and other war zones, and of capturing and killing 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and his deputy.