President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that he will attend the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon, asserting his presence there as he refuted a report claiming he would not attend the Ground Zero ceremony in New York.
"Because I'm going to the Pentagon," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews when asked about not planning to be at Ground Zero. The New York Times had reported Thursday that Trump was not scheduled to attend the New York ceremony because politicians are prohibited from speaking at the event, a policy in place since 2012.
A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, stated that Trump is a "proud New Yorker" and that he will "remember those who were killed at the hands of evil terrorists, honor their loved ones, and pay tribute to the brave first responders." Kelly added that the vice president will travel to New York and administration officials will be present at all three 9/11 attack sites.
White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissed the Times report as "FAKE NEWS" on social media platform X.
Trump himself criticized the reporter behind the Times article on Truth Social, writing that she "made up a story." He stated, "I would love not to speak, because I’m speaking all the time, and this is a day to remember the victims, and their beautiful family members."
Last year, Trump also spoke at the Pentagon for the 24th anniversary of 9/11, later attending a Yankees game in New York City. He last attended the Ground Zero ceremony in 2024 as the Republican presidential nominee, appearing alongside then-President Joe Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris. During his first term, Trump did not attend the Ground Zero ceremony, opting to speak at the Pentagon in 2017 and alternating between the Pentagon and the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in subsequent years.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the 2001 attacks when al-Qaeda hijackers crashed airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against hijackers on Flight 93. The attacks remain the deadliest in U.S. history and led to the invasion of Afghanistan and the broader War on Terror.