President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris joined a unity together on Wednesday in a 9/11 memorial ceremony at Ground Zero in New York. The event marking the 23rd anniversary of the acts of terrorism that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people was attended by politicians when remembering of the tragedy was held.
In less than 24 hours after a political debate between the two, Trump, Biden and Harris were seen shaking hands, where Joe Biden, former New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg was seen in the middle, introducing Harris to Trump. The leaders joined each other and then waited as the names of the victims were read out every year.
The anniversary of 9/11 was marred this year as the victims’ families called for justice. Several relatives, upon announcing their names, gave messages to individuals and political parties. One woman named Allison Walsh-DiMarzio, whose mother was a victim of the 9-11 tragedy, appealed to Trump and Harris and demanded that they put pressure on Saudi Arabia concerning the possible involvement of the country in the attacks. She cried out: “We are pleading for your help, but you ignore us.” Many of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia has for a long time not accepted a connection with the hijackers of September 11.
The other female speaker, Joanne Barbara, expressed her displeasure at a recently withdrawn plea bargain deal to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, asking for justice for the families of the victims. ”It has been 23 years, and the families, the victims, they deserve justice and accountability,” she said.
These were in addition to other functions of honoring the deceased The appearance of the leaders formed part of different activities of mourning. Biden and Harris paid respects at all three 9/11 sites: The World Trade Center site in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D. C., and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Biden and Harris then both placed wreaths, and both had conversations with the families of the victims. Trump and his Vice, Senator JD Vance, had the New York firehouse power before joining the ceremony.
Though most people in the United States may not mark 9/11 as they used to, its impact remains reflected in U. S policies on international relations and within the country’s internal security system. At the Pentagon ceremony, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the events have continued to shape the United States and the world to date.
The Sept. 11 attacks involved people from over 90 countries, and these events triggered the “War on Terrorism” by the United States, which involved military incursion into Afghanistan and Iraq, which claimed the lives of over 400,000 people.
While families commemorated their lost ones, some came up with different political leaders taking part in those events. While some welcomed their participation, stating that hard-working people have rights for such an event, others criticized it, remarking that such an event only serves political gains. “This is a justifiable anger and frustration, and this should not be a place to score political points,” said Brandon Jones, a man grieving for his dead sister. However, the day continued to be about the commemoration of the lives that were lost in one of the black days in the history of the United States.
Thirteen-year-old twins Brady and Emily Henry, reading names to honor their firefighter uncle, Joseph Patrick Henry, summed up the sentiment of the day: “We promise to continue telling your stories,” Emily Henry said, “and we’ll never let anyone forget all those lost on Sept. 11.”
