23 Years After 9/11: Political Power Players Collide At Ground Zero

This year, the anniversary is tinged with the fervor of presidential campaign politics, as President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris converged on the plaza where the iconic twin towers once stood.

According to ABC News, the 11th of September, a date that will forever be etched in the annals of American history due to the devastating hijacked plane attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives in 2001, invariably falls amidst the presidential election season every four years. This year, however, the timing is particularly poignant.

Following their inaugural debate on Tuesday night, Harris and Trump found themselves together once more at the 9/11 observances at the World Trade Center in New York and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania. Trump, accompanied by running mate Sen. JD Vance, arrived at the trade center site around 8 a.m., taking time to pose for photographs with some audience members. Biden and Harris made their appearance approximately thirty minutes later, greeted by enthusiastic cheers of "Kamala!" from some attendees.

The Democratic and Republican nominees stood mere feet apart, with Biden and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg acting as a buffer between them. Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump, a gesture that marked the beginning of the ceremony, which commenced with the tolling of a bell and a moment of silence.

September 11, 2024

However, for relatives of the victims, such as Cathy Naughton, who was there to honor her cousin Michael Roberts, one of the hundreds of firefighters who perished in the attack, the political backdrop was not the primary concern. "Twenty-three years later, it's just so raw," she expressed. "We want to make sure people remember always, and say the names always and never forget."

The organizers of anniversary ceremonies have long strived to keep the focus on the victims, regardless of the campaign calendar. For years, politicians have been mere observers at ground zero observances, with the microphone instead handed to relatives who read out the names of the victims.

Biden, on the last 9/11 of his term and likely his political career, was set to attend ceremonies in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon later with Harris. These are the three sites where commercial jets crashed after al-Qaida operatives hijacked them on September 11, 2001. Trump was also expected at the Flight 93 National Memorial near rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The attacks that day left an indelible mark on the nation, claiming 2,977 lives and leaving thousands of bereaved relatives and scarred survivors. The planes tore a hole in the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters, and brought down the twin towers of the trade center, which were among the world's tallest buildings at the time.

The repercussions of the attacks were felt around the world and through generations as the U.S. responded by leading a "Global War on Terrorism," which included invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. These operations resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis and thousands of American troops, and Afghanistan became the site of the United States' longest war.

As the complex legacy of 9/11 continues to evolve, communities around the country have developed remembrance traditions that range from laying wreaths to displaying flags, from marches to police radio messages. Volunteer projects also mark the anniversary, which Congress has titled both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

At ground zero, presidents and other officeholders read poems, parts of the Declaration of Independence, and other texts during the first several anniversaries. However, this practice ended after the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum decided in 2012 to limit the ceremony to relatives reading victims names. Bloomberg was board chairman at the time and still is.

Politicians and candidates still have been able to attend the event. Many do, especially New Yorkers who held office during the attacks, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was then a U.S. senator.

She and Trump overlapped at the ground zero 9/11 remembrance in 2016, and it became a fraught chapter in the narrative of that year's presidential campaign. Clinton, then the Democratic nominee, abruptly left the ceremony, stumbled while awaiting her motorcade, and later disclosed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia a couple of days earlier. The episode stirred fresh attention to her health, which Trump had been questioning for months.

In 2008, then-senators and presidential campaign rivals John McCain and Barack Obama made a visible effort to put politics aside on the anniversary. They visited ground zero together to pay their respects and lay flowers in a reflecting pool at what was then still a pit.

Victims' family members occasionally send their own political messages at the ceremony, where readers generally make brief remarks after finishing their assigned set of names. Some relatives have used the forum to bemoan Americans' divisions, exhort leaders to prioritize national security, acknowledge the casualties of the war on terror, complain that officials are politicizing 9/11, and even criticize individual officeholders.

But most readers stick to tributes and personal reflections. Increasingly they come from children and young adults who were born after the attacks killed a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle. "Even though I never got to meet you, I feel like Ive known you forever," Annabella Sanchez said last year of her grandfather, Edward Joseph Papa. "We will always remember and honor you, every day. We love you, Grandpa Eddie."

The 9/11 anniversary continues to serve as a poignant reminder of the lives lost and the resilience of a nation that continues to remember and honor its fallen heroes. The political backdrop may change with each passing year, but the enduring legacy of 9/11 remains a testament to the spirit of unity and resilience that defines the American people.