WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump observed Friday’s 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by attending a ceremony at the Pentagon commemorating the lives lost when al-Qaida militants hijacked planes and killed nearly 3,000 people in three locations, upending American foreign policy and national security.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump listened as the names of the 184 people killed at the Pentagon that day were read aloud at the start
of the ceremony. Earlier, in a downpour at daybreak, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top military officials stood outside and watched as a giant American flag was unfurled on the building struck by one of those planes a quarter century ago.
It's the second year in a row for Trump to mark the day at the Pentagon. The president, who is originally from New York, last attended the ground zero ceremony there in 2024.
Vice President JD Vance is attending the New York observance alongside former presidents, while other administration officials are at the ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Vance had planned to be in New York for the anniversary last year but instead flew to Salt Lake City to be with the family of Charlie Kirk after the conservative activist was assassinated.
At a Tuesday event at the Ellipse just outside the White House, Trump vowed to “never forget” victims, noting that the Sept. 11 attacks were one of few moments in history that "divide time into really what came before" and after.
That event, spearheaded by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, showcased a massive, 21-foot, nearly 17,000-pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York. Traveling for months across the country as part of the Steel Across America tour, the beam was to be in New York for a procession Friday retracing the steps of fallen New York City firefighter Stephen Siller.
On Wednesday, Trump issued a proclamation naming Friday as “Patriot Day 2026,” recounting the chronology of the 2001 day on which “the peace of our Nation was shattered” and calling his administration “unwavering in its commitment to ensure that our Nation is defended by the strongest and most lethal military the world has ever known.”
The Republican midterms convention on Thursday night observed the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with families onstage in Dallas and firefighters in uniform as the song “Ave Maria” was played. The names of the victims appeared on a screen and a bell was rung to commemorate the loss of firefighters.
