Trump, Biden commemorating 9/11 at Flight 93 memorial
Flight 93 #Flight93
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nation marks the 19th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks in the midst of another unfolding tragedy, the men vying to lead the nation next year will pay their respects at the same memorial — without crossings paths.
President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, will both be traveling to rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Friday, where the hijacked Flight 93 crashed in a field, killing everyone on board. While Trump will speak at the site’s annual memorial ceremony held Friday morning, Biden will visit later, in the afternoon, after attending the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s annual commemoration at Ground Zero in New York, along with Vice President Mike Pence.
While Trump and Biden’s visits will not overlap, the day will nonetheless bring the two candidates the closest they’ve been in months. And though the candidates and country will be focused on the commemorations, the political significance of their visits to Shanksville is hard to ignore, with Pennsylvania a crucial battleground state. Trump won there by less than one percentage point four years ago, and Democrats hope they can return it to their column in less than two months.
Still, Biden insisted that he would steer clear of politics on a national day of mourning.
“I’m not gonna make any news today. I’m not gonna talk about anything other than 9/11,” he told reporters. “We took all our advertising down, it’s a solemn day, and that’s how we’re going to keep it, OK?”
Trump did not address reporters before boarding Air Force One and his campaign did not respond to questions about whether it intended to halt ads as well.
Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik issued a statement on the campaign’s behalf honoring the memories of those who died, as well as first responders and “the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in defense of our freedom and flag since then.”
The National Park Service, which co-hosts the annual Flight 93 memorial event, had originally said it was planning an abbreviated ceremony this year to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. The agency had been planning a 20-minute “Moment of Remembrance” without a keynote speaker or musical guests. Instead, the name of each passengers and crew member was to be read aloud with the ringing of the “Bells of Remembrance,” according to the agency’s website.
But after Biden and then the White House announced their plans, the website was updated to reflect a new schedule that included remarks from Trump and the Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt.
The events come as the president is grappling with fallout from a new book by veteran journalist, Bob Woodward, which has refocused attention on Trump’s handling of the virus. In interviews, Trump admitted to Woodward that had played down the threat posed by the virus this winter, even though he knew how deadly it was.
In 2016, the 9/11 memorial events became a flashpoint in the campaign after then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton abruptly left the Ground Zero 9/11 ceremony and was caught on tape stumbling and then falling as she tried to get into a van. Trump also spent the day in New York and paid his own visit to the memorial in lower Manhattan.
Pence on Friday will be attending the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s 19th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony with Biden, along with a second event, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s September 11th Memorial Ceremony.
Friday will mark Trump’s second time observing the 9/11 anniversary in Shanksville, where he made remarks in 2018. Biden spoke at the memorial’s dedication in 2011, when he was vice president.
The 2,200-acre Flight 93 National Memorial marks the spot in rural Pennsylvania where the hijacked flight crashed, killing all 40 people on board. Three other planes hijacked that day were crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, to travel to Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., for a 9/11 anniversary observance. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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