In a major break with tradition, President Joe Biden has become the first Commander-in-Chief to not make an appearance at any of the official 9/11 memorial sites on the anniversary of the infamous terrorist attacks. Rather than visiting Ground Zero, the Pentagon Memorial, or the United Flight 93 crash site, Biden commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the attacks from a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, prompting sharp criticism from victims’ families.
The anniversary of the September 11th attacks coincided with President Biden’s return trip from India’s G20 Summit and a visit to Vietnam. While in transit, Biden stopped for a ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, commemorating the tragedy alongside military personnel and their families. This made him the first sitting US president to not visit one of the three 9/11 memorials in the 22 years since the attack.
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“We know that on this day, every American’s heart was wounded,” Biden said. “Yet every big city, small town, suburb, rural town, tribal community — American hands went up, ready to help where they could.”
“This is something [President Biden] feels is very important to do. We can only imagine the heartbreak and pain that the 9/11 families have felt every day for the past 22 years,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement ahead of Biden’s remarks.
Vice-President Kamala Harris visited the Ground Zero memorial in Biden’s place, attending the annual ceremony alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Senators Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and former Mayors Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg, and Rudy Giuliani. The group of politicians was not scheduled to speak, but rather silently observed the hours long reading of the 2,977 names of those killed in the attack, according to the Associated Press.
Similar commemorative events were held at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, and at the United Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
In response to Biden’s absence, many of the families of 9/11 victims expressed outrage and frustration. “It’s no surprise to me that he’s not coming to Ground Zero or any of the 9/11 sites,” Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Donald Arias, who lost his brother Adam during the attacks, said to Fox News. “And quite frankly, I prefer he stay away anyway. We will be spared one of his stories of how he can relate, like he did with the people of Lahaina, how he can relate because of a kitchen fire. We can do without that.”
This sentiment was echoed by Terry Strada, chair of 9/11 Families United, who lost her husband on 9/11. “He is now just saying that flippantly that he doesn’t have to come to any of the sites and commemorate the loss with the families,” she said. “That’s terrible.”
When Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy raised the subject, White House representatives downplayed the issue. “When I asked a White House official why it is that President Biden was here and missed the 9/11 commemorations at the attack sites, the analogy that I was given is that 22 years after Pearl Harbor, U.S. Presidents were not still going to visit Hawaii,” Doocy reported.
Absolutely disgraceful!
Peter Doocy asked the White House why Joe Biden didn't commemorate 9/11 at one of the attack sites—the first president to miss the occasion— and was given this analogy:
"22 years after Pearl Harbor, US Presidents were not still going to visit Hawaii." pic.twitter.com/wwpkl8Iq1W
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 11, 2023
However, as many have pointed out, numerous presidents have commemorated the attack on Pearl Harbor at the site in the decades since the attack, though not every year.
President Joe Biden’s remarks on the anniversary of 9/11 can be seen below.
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