On Monday, the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks which stole 2,977 innocent lives on U.S. soil, President Joe Biden will become the first U.S. president since the attacks to skip out on official remembrance ceremonies held at the White House, Ground Zero in Manhattan, the Pentagon, or the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 met its tragically heroic end after passengers launched the first counterattack against those responsible for the horror of 9/11.
It's a disgrace for Biden to be skipping out on official events with family members, friends, colleagues, and other loved ones of those who were killed 22 years ago. If not for a necessary refueling stop in Alaska for Air Force One on Monday afternoon Eastern Time, Biden wouldn't have been on U.S. soil until late Monday night when he arrives back in Washington and wouldn't have made any public remarks on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11. Instead of participating in the official ceremonies, Biden — as with other things he clearly has no interest in — tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to attend the ceremony at Ground Zero in his stead.
As a notable contrast to Biden's latest abdication of his role as president and supposed leader of the American people on one of our country's darkest days, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is spending Monday morning at the World Trade Center in Manhattan to mourn the lost and observe the somber occasion.
Invited by seven families of those killed in the attacks, Gov. DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis joined the official remembrance ceremony at the World Trade Center as the names of those who were killed were read and moments of silence are observed to mark the times iconic symbols of American power were struck by terrorist-hijacked planes.
The day and venue holds particular significance for DeSantis as well. The only 2024 candidate to serve in the Armed Forces, DeSantis has frequently mentioned how the events of 9/11 changed his thinking on serving in the military and proved to be a pivotal moment for his future.
At an event in Iowa over the summer, DeSantis recalled how his career plans changed after watching America come under attack. "I was a baseball player all through college. I didn’t necessarily think I was going to make it to the big leagues, but I thought maybe I could do it on the business side or do something else," DeSantis recalled. "And then 9/11 happened and it changed my outlook on military service."
"People weren’t being drafted to do it," DeSantis remembered. "It was basically just people that were raising their hand, and I felt an obligation to do my part, given the nation’s needs. So I raised my hand — I volunteered," he said. "I would have made a lot more money if I would have done other things, but I thought it was important to do."
Following 9/11, DeSantis joined the Navy as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer, then volunteered for a deployment to Fallujah as part of the mission to take out al-Qaeda in Iraq.
In addition to DeSantis's attendance at the official Ground Zero ceremony, other GOP presidential hopefuls shared their remembrances in statements and posts on X (formerly Twitter).
"Twenty-two years ago, the soul of America was shaken in a way we had never felt before," remembered 116th Governor of South Carolina and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in a statement. "Terrorists came into America and murdered thousands of our citizens on our soil. We will never forget the precious lives lost and the heroes who emerged—the firefighters who rushed into the towers, the airline passengers who gave their lives to save others, and so many who showed their courage on that terrible day," said Haley before noting "we have a new generation of young Americans who did not live through the horrors of 9/11" and reminding Americans it’s "our job to remind them that real evil exists in this world. The strength of America will prevail when we remember we are not immune from countries that want to destroy us," Haley emphasized.
22 years ago today, tragedy struck our nation and thousands of American lives were lost at the hands of evil terrorists.
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) September 11, 2023
Today, I remember the heroes of 9/11 and pray for their families.
God Bless the United States of America. pic.twitter.com/8gSHOu02ml
Former President Donald Trump also released a video on Truth Social remembering the "agony and anguish" of 9/11 that remains "seared" into Americans' minds. "God bless the memory of all of those who perished in the 9/11 attacks. We will never ever forget," pledged Trump.