America marks 25th anniversary of September 11 attacks with ceremonies in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania
The United States observed the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Friday, with memorial ceremonies held at the World Trade Center site in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The attacks, carried out by 19 al-Qaeda hijackers using four commercial aircraft, killed approximately 2,977 people. President Donald Trump attended the Pentagon ceremony and delivered remarks there, while all living former presidents gathered at the ground zero ceremony in New York.
This year's ceremonies carried a new element: for the first time, the New York commemoration added a seventh moment of silence — joining the existing six that mark key timestamps from the attacks — to honor the thousands who have since died from illnesses linked to toxic dust and debris from the World Trade Center's collapse. According to CNN and NPR, New York City also released nearly 170,000 previously undisclosed documents this week showing that city officials at the time knew conditions around ground zero were unsafe but withheld that information from the public. The World Trade Center Health Program reports that more than 154,000 survivors and first responders are now enrolled, with cancer diagnoses among members having risen 912% over the last decade.
President Trump chose to deliver remarks at the Pentagon rather than attend the ground zero ceremony in New York, where politicians have been prohibited from speaking since 2012. In a radio interview, Trump said, "I speak enough. The last thing I want to do is speak. I really don't need it for any reason," while also asserting, "I'm sure if I wanted to speak, they would have let me. I'm the president." CNN reported separately that Trump opted for the Pentagon in part because he wanted to deliver remarks. Vice President JD Vance attended the New York ceremony alongside all living former presidents and first ladies.
At the New York ceremony, two moments of political speech emerged from what organizers described as a traditionally nonpartisan event. Terry Strada, widow of a Cantor Fitzgerald employee killed in the attacks and national chair of 9/11 Families United, departed from the name-reading script to ask, "How can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?" A relative of another victim separately called on Trump to release unredacted government files related to alleged Saudi involvement in the attacks. Saudi Arabia has consistently denied any government involvement. Earlier this week, CNN noted, partially redacted FBI documents released in 2021 described alleged logistical support from a Saudi consular official and a suspected Saudi intelligence agent to at least two of the hijackers.