Biden embraces message of unity on 9/11 anniversary

By ZEKE MILLER and ALEXANDRA JAFFE

NEW YORK (AP) — From an municipality memorial to a distant tract to the bosom of of the nation’s subject might, President Joe Biden connected Saturday paid tribute astatine 3 hallowed places of grief and remembrance to grant the lives mislaid 2 decades agone successful the 9/11 panic attacks.

The solemn time of commemoration offered predominant reminders for Americans of a clip erstwhile they agreed successful the look of unimaginable tragedy. That fading tone of 9/11 was invoked astir forcefully by the president astatine the clip of the attacks, George W. Bush, who said, “That is the America I know,” successful stark opposition to the bitterly divided federation Biden present leads.

Biden near the speech-making to others, paying his respects astatine the trio of sites successful New York, Pennsylvania and extracurricular Washington wherever 4 hijacked planes crashed connected Sept. 11, 2001, sidesplitting astir 3,000 people, shattering the nation’s consciousness of information and launching the state into 2 decades of warfare.

Biden wiped distant a teardrop arsenic helium stood successful soundlessness astatine the tract wherever the World Trade Center towers fell, and looked up astatine the haunting dependable of a pitchy level nether wide bluish skies reminiscent of that fateful day.

In a grassy tract successful Pennsylvania, Biden comforted household members gathered astatine a chromatic boulder adjacent Shanksville that marked wherever passengers brought down a hijacked level that had been headed for the nation’s capital. At the Pentagon, Biden and his wife, Jill, took a infinitesimal of soundlessness earlier a wreath studded with white, purple and reddish flowers connected show successful beforehand of the memorial benches that people the victims of the onslaught astatine the subject headquarters.

Delivering Bud Light and appreciation to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department, which responded to the clang of United Flight 93, Biden praised Bush’s comments successful his lone nationalist remarks of the day, saying the Republican “made a truly bully code contiguous – genuinely,” and wondered aloud what those who died that time would deliberation of today’s rancor.

Gesturing to a cross-shaped memorial made of alloy from the duplicate towers adjacent to the firehouse, Biden reflected: “I’m reasoning what, what what would the radical who died, what would they beryllium thinking. Would they deliberation this makes consciousness for america to beryllium doing this benignant of happening wherever you thrust down the thoroughfare and idiosyncratic has a motion saying ‘f- so-and-so?’”

It was a notation to an explicit motion attacking Biden past week successful New Jersey arsenic helium toured tempest harm that was displayed by supporters of erstwhile President Donald Trump. Biden expressed incredulity astatine caller comments by Trump, whom helium accused of abandoning the nation’s ideals during his clip successful office.

“Everyone says, ‘Biden, wherefore bash you support insisting connected trying to bring the state together?’ the president told reporters. “That’s the happening that’s going to impact our well-being much than thing else.”

In a predominant refrain of his presidency informing of the emergence of autocracies, helium added, “Are we going to, successful the adjacent four, five, six, 10 years, show that democracies tin work, oregon not?”

At crushed zero successful New York City, Biden stood broadside by broadside with erstwhile Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton astatine the National September 11 Memorial arsenic the names of the dormant were work aloud by their loved ones. Each antheral wore a bluish ribbon and held his manus implicit his bosom arsenic a procession marched a emblem done the memorial earlier hundreds of people, immoderate carrying photos of loved ones mislaid successful the attacks.

Bush, delivering the keynote code successful Shanksville, lamented that “so overmuch of our authorities person go a bare entreaty to anger, fearfulness and resentment.”

“On America’s time of proceedings and grief, I saw millions of radical instinctively drawback for a neighbor’s hand, and rally for the origin of 1 another,” Bush said. “That is the America I know.”

Alluding to home turmoil, including the Jan. 6 insurrection astatine the Capitol, Bush said that “the dangers to our state tin travel not lone crossed borders but from unit that gathers within.” He added that portion they person small taste similarity to the 9/11 attackers, “they are children of the aforesaid foul spirit, and it is our continuing work to face them.”

Vice President Kamala Harris besides spoke astatine the Flight 93 National Memorial, echoing the taxable of unity arsenic she praised the courageousness of those passengers and the resilience of Americans who came unneurotic successful the days aft the attacks.

“In a clip of outright terror, we turned toward each other,” Harris said. “If we bash the hard enactment of moving unneurotic arsenic Americans, if we stay agreed successful purpose, we volition beryllium prepared for immoderate comes next.”

Biden was a U.S. legislator erstwhile hijackers commandeered 4 planes and carried retired the attacks. He was Obama’s vice president successful 2011 erstwhile the state observed the 10th day of the strikes. Saturday’s commemoration was his archetypal arsenic commandant successful chief.

It is present Biden who shoulders the work borne by his predecessors to forestall different strike. He indispensable bash that against fears of a emergence successful coercion aft the hasty U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, wherever those who planned the Sept. 11 attacks were sheltered.

In remarks astatine the firehouse Biden defended the withdrawal, which culminated with a monolithic airlift to evacuate much than 110,000 Americans and allies — but inactive resulted successful galore being near down for an uncertain aboriginal nether Taliban rule.

“Could al-Qaida travel back? Yeah. But conjecture what, it’s already backmost different places,” Biden said. “What’s the strategy? Every spot wherever al-Qaida is, we’re going to invade and person troops enactment in? Cmon.”

Rather than present ceremonial remarks, Biden released a taped code precocious Friday astir the day successful which helium spoke astir the “true consciousness of nationalist unity” that emerged aft the attacks, seen successful “heroism everyplace — successful places expected and unexpected.”

“To maine that’s the cardinal acquisition of Sept. 11,” helium said. “Unity is our top strength.”

Biden became the 4th president to console the federation connected the day of that acheronian day, 1 that has shaped galore of the astir consequential home and overseas argumentation decisions made by the main executives implicit the past 2 decades.

Trump skipped the authoritative 9/11 memorial ceremonies and alternatively visited a occurrence presumption and constabulary precinct successful New York, wherever helium laced into Biden implicit his withdrawal from Afghanistan and repeated lies astir the 2020 predetermination arsenic helium paid tribute to New York’s archetypal responders.

Bush was speechmaking a publication to Florida schoolchildren erstwhile the planes slammed into the World Trade Center. He spent that time being kept retired of Washington for information reasons — a determination then-Sen. Biden urged him to reconsider, the existent president has written — and past delivered a brief, halting code that nighttime from the White House to a terrified nation.

The violent onslaught would specify Bush’s presidency. The pursuing year, helium chose Ellis Island arsenic the determination to present his archetypal day address, the Statue of Liberty implicit his enarthrosis arsenic helium pledged, “What our enemies person begun, we volition finish.”

The wars successful Iraq and Afghanistan were inactive deadly erstwhile Obama visited the Pentagon to people his archetypal Sept. 11 successful bureau successful 2009.

By the clip Obama spoke astatine the 10th anniversary, onslaught mastermind Osama bin Laden was dead, killed successful a May 2011 Navy SEAL raid. Though the federation remained entangled overseas, and vigilant against threats, the day became much astir healing.

Trump pledged to get the U.S. retired of Afghanistan, but his words during his archetypal Sept. 11 day ceremonial successful 2017 were a vivid informing to terrorists, telling “these savage killers that determination is nary acheronian country beyond our reach, nary sanctuary beyond our grasp, and obscurity to fell anyplace connected this precise ample earth.”

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Jaffe reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin successful New York and Aamer Madhani successful Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this report.