Politics
Trump, Harris shake hands in show of unity at Ground Zero for 9/11 commemoration
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both traveled to New York City following their first presidential debate showdown, to put politics aside and commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Wednesday marks the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Nearly 3,000 people died as the result of a group of terrorists launching coordinated attacks against the U.S. by hijacking and crashing commercial airline planes at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in what became America’s most deadly terrorist attack.
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Trump and Harris participated in their first presidential debate Tuesday night before they both traveled to New York City.
President Biden; Harris; Trump; and his running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, attended the 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center site, also known as Ground Zero, in lower Manhattan to commemorate 23 years since the terrorist attacks.
From left to right: New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Vice President Kamala Harris, President Biden, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former President Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance pay their respects to 9/11 victims at Ground Zero in New York City on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
President Biden, former President Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris and Ohio Sen. JD Vance were seen standing side by side Wednesday during the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero.
Trump and Harris were seen shaking hands Wednesday at Ground Zero ahead of a remembrance ceremony for 9/11 victims.
After the ceremony, Trump is expected to visit New York Fire Department Engine 4, Tower Ladder 15.
Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with former President Donald Trump as former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and President Biden look on during a remembrance ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center at Ground Zero, in New York City on Sept. 11, 2024. (ADAM GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)
He is then set to travel to Shanksville to the Flight 93 Memorial.
Biden and Harris are also expected to travel to Shanksville for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Flight 93 Memorial.
Later, Biden and Harris will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
The Twin Towers in 1994. (Stephan Schulz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
More than 400 first responders gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, including 23 New York City police officers, 37 Port Authority workers and 343 New York City firefighters.
The 40 passengers and crew members of Flight 93, all of whom lost their lives, are believed to have prevented a larger attack by fighting back against the terrorists who hijacked the plane. The field in Shanksville where the plane crashed is just a 20-minute flight from the U.S. Capitol.
The “Tower of Voices,” part of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on May 26, 2021. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden-Harris administration on Aug. 31, 2021, withdrew all U.S. military assets from Afghanistan, after having a presence for nearly 20 years following the 9/11 attacks.
Amid the withdrawal, the Taliban took over Afghanistan and formally announced the formation of its new government. The Taliban’s government before 9/11 was the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan before militants were ousted by U.S.-led forces in the wake of the attacks.
The 9/11 attacks were orchestrated by al Qaeda while it was being sheltered by the Taliban.