President Donald Trump will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon, honoring the victims and first responders, according to a White House statement.
Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to attend a remembrance ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York, while other administration officials will gather in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This arrangement ensures representation at all three primary sites associated with the 9/11 attacks.
White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stated that President Trump, as a "proud New Yorker," has spoken of his personal experience witnessing the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Kelly added that on this anniversary, the President will "remember those who were killed at the hands of evil terrorists, honor their loved ones, and pay tribute to the brave first responders who put their lives on the line to rescue their fellow Americans."
Last year, President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended a 9/11 commemoration at the Pentagon. Trump also issued a Patriot Day proclamation calling for flags to be flown at half-staff and later attended a New York Yankees game that featured tributes to the victims.
During his first term, Trump attended memorials at the Pentagon in 2017 and 2019. He spent Sept. 11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in 2018 and 2020.
Trump was in New York City as a real-estate developer when the attacks occurred and recalled watching the tragedy unfold. "I have a window that looks directly at the World Trade Center, and I saw this huge explosion," Trump said in a phone interview on the day of the attacks. "I was with a group of people and I really couldn’t even believe it."
Earlier this week, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation brought its "Steel Across America" tour to the White House, featuring a 21-foot steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center’s South Tower. The beam has been traveling across 21 states as a memorial to the victims and first responders of 9/11.