On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump commemorated the 25th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the Pentagon, acknowledging the significance of the loss of nearly 3,000 lives at the hands of hijackers of al-Qaida, and noting its lasting impact on U.S. national security and foreign policy.
A bell was rung following each name in a memorial of confronters who lost their lives in the crashes of hijacked planes in the Pentagon, World Trade Centre and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
In his speech, Trump called out several of the victims and said that the attacks had sparked a resolve among the Americans to protect themselves. The poet also cautioned to keep the memory of the deceased alive.
Trump referred to the unity that “shined” in the United States after the attacks, when Americans united during “the darkest time in the history of this country.”
It was the second year in a row that Trump has celebrated the day at the Pentagon. The New York City native who had been at the Ground Zero memorial back in 2024.
At the same time, Vice President JD Vance turned up in New York for the 25th-anniversary celebration alongside former presidents and other dignitaries. The administration also had to mark another occasion in Shanksville, this time for the passengers and crew on United Airlines Flight-93, which crashed after they tried to wrest control of the aircraft away from the hijackers.
Vance was originally going to make an appearance at the ceremony in New York the year before when he was muscled into making it after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Instead he went to Salt Lake City to be with Kirk’s family.
The ceremonies nationwide were a reminder of both the lives lost on 9/11, 2001, and the significant shift in society and national policies that occurred in the wake of that tragedy.