USA TODAY International Edition
Trump eschews political jabs in 9/11 tribute
It’s the day ‘we all changed,’ he says
WASHINGTON As mourning bells tolled, President Trump marked his first 9/11 anniversary Monday by avoiding talk of politics and paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the fateful terrorist attacks of 16 years ago.
“On that day not only did the world change, but we all changed,” Trump said in a ceremony at the Pentagon, one of the targets of hijacked airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001. “Our eyes were opened to the depths of the evil we face.”
Though Trump has injected politics into ceremonial occasions before — such as a Boy Scouts Jamboree in July in which he eschewed tradition to jab the news media and political opponents — he kept a somber tone to commemorate the anniversary.
The first-year president honored those who lost their lives in the attacks.
“We mourn them, we honor them, and we pledge to never, ever forget them,” he said.
Members of the crowd prayed. As American flags flew at halfstaff at the White House, a bugler played taps to end the brief ceremony.
Trump, who has loudly criticized the policies of predecessors George W. Bush and Barack Obama over post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, avoided those subjects in his remarks.
Instead, he praised military personnel who carry on the fight against terrorism across the globe, and he vowed to defeat “horrible, horrible enemies” who threaten the United States.
“Enemies like we have never seen before,” Trump said, adding later, “America does not bend. We do not waver. And we will never, ever yield.”