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NEW YORK — Three presidents and their wives stood somberly broadside by broadside astatine the National September 11 Memorial, sharing a infinitesimal of soundlessness to people the day of the nation’s worst panic onslaught with a show of unity.
Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton each gathered astatine the tract wherever the World Trade Center towers fell 2 decades ago. They each wore bluish ribbons and held their hands implicit their hearts arsenic a procession marched a emblem done the memorial, watched by hundreds of Americans gathered for the remembrance, immoderate carrying photos of loved ones mislaid successful the attacks.
Before the lawsuit began, a pitchy flew overhead successful an eerie echo of the attacks, drafting a glimpse from Biden toward the sky. For overmuch of the ceremonial helium stood with his arms crossed and caput bowed, listening portion the names of the victims were read. At 1 point, the president wiped a teardrop from his eye.
Biden was a legislator erstwhile hijackers commandeered 4 planes and executed the attack. Now helium marks the 9/11 day for the archetypal clip arsenic commandant successful chief.
The president volition walk Saturday paying his respects astatine the trio of sites wherever the planes crashed, but helium near the speech-making to others.
Vice President Kamala Harris was acceptable to talk astatine the Flight 93 National Memorial successful Shanksville, Pennsylvania, commemorating the heroes that brought down a hijacked level that was headed for the U.S. Capitol. According to prepared remarks, Harris planned to praise their courageousness and the resilience of the American people, and talk astir the unity that Americans experienced successful the days pursuing the attacks, calling unity “essential to our shared prosperity, our nationalist security, and to our lasting successful the world.”
The White House released a taped code precocious Friday successful which Biden besides spoke of 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 September 11,” helium said. “Unity is our top strength.”
Biden arrived successful New York connected Friday nighttime arsenic the skyline was illuminated by the “Tribute successful Light,” hauntingly marking wherever the towers erstwhile stood.
Following the greeting ceremonial successful New York City, Biden volition sojourn the tract adjacent Shanksville wherever the level fell from the entity and past volition caput to the Pentagon, wherever the world’s mightiest subject suffered an unthinkable stroke to its precise home.
Biden’s task, similar that of his predecessors earlier him, was to people the infinitesimal with a premix of grief and resolve. A antheral who has suffered immense idiosyncratic tragedy, Biden speaks of nonaccomplishment with power.
He gave dependable to the symptom that comes with memories of 9/11 successful his video message, saying, “No substance however overmuch clip has passed, these commemorations bring everything painfully backmost arsenic if you conscionable got the quality a fewer seconds ago.”
Robert Gibbs, who served arsenic Obama’s property secretary, said for Biden, “It’s a infinitesimal for radical to spot him not arsenic Democratic president, but arsenic president of the United States of America,.”
“The American radical are somewhat conflicted astir what they person seen retired of Afghanistan the past mates of weeks,” Gibbs said. “For Biden, it’s a infinitesimal to effort to reset immoderate of that. Remind radical of what it is to beryllium commandant successful main and what it means to beryllium the person of the state astatine a infinitesimal of specified significance.”
On the 20th day of the attacks, Biden present shoulders the work borne by his predecessors to forestall aboriginal tragedy, and indispensable bash truthful against caller fears of a emergence successful panic aft the United States’ hasty exit from Afghanistan, the state from which the Sept. 11 attacks were plotted.
Biden is 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.
The panic onslaught defined the presidency of George W. Bush, who 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 that 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 pursuing year, Bush chose Ellis Island arsenic the determination to present his archetypal day address, the Statue of Liberty implicit his enarthrosis arsenic helium vowed, “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.
“No words tin easiness the ache of your hearts,” helium said.
“We callback the quality and meaning of their lives,” helium said. “No transition of time, nary acheronian skies tin dull the meaning of that moment.”
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 panic threats, the day became much astir healing.
President Donald 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.”
On Saturday, arsenic Biden was making his mode to each 3 sites, Bush was to wage his respects successful Shanksville. Trump planned astatine slightest 1 halt successful Manhattan and was to present ringside commentary astatine a boxing lucifer astatine a casino successful Hollywood, Florida.
Jaffe reported from Washington.
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