Partisanship put aside as rivals honour 9/11 victims
DONALD TRUMP and Joe Biden paused their election campaigning to attend memorials marking the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks yesterday at events altered due to the threat of coronavirus.
The US president spoke at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, near where one of the hijacked planes crashed on Sept 11 2001 after passengers fought back. Mr Trump promised “unwavering love” to those who lost relatives and friends on that day.
Mr Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, attended a memorial in New York in the morning before also visiting Pennsylvania. He wore a black face mask, and said his campaign had taken down advertising for the day.
Commemorations at the sites where the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon in Washington had been attacked saw attendees wear masks, and at times keep socially distanced.
Moments of silence were held in New York at the time the two planes struck the Twin Towers at 8.46am and 9.03am that day. There were others to mark the moments a third plane struck the Pentagon and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. At points, the names of the almost 3,000 people killed in the attacks were read out via a pre-recorded message rather than in person, in a change made due to coronavirus.
Mr Trump praised the 40 people who fought back on board Flight 93, which is believed to have been heading for Washington, saying their courage “will inspire America for all time to come”. He said: “To every 9/11 member all across this nation, I come to this hallowed ground deeply aware that we cannot fill the void in your heart or erase the terrible sorrow of this day. We promise that unwavering love that you so want and need.”
Mr Biden bumped arms with Mike Pence, the US vice-president, at the New York memorial service in another sign of partisanship paused for the day. Mr Biden had earlier told reporters:
“I’m not going to make any news today. I’m not going to talk about anything other than 9/11.” He offered condolences to Amanda Barreto, who lost her godmother and aunt in the World Trade Center. She said he had “wanted to let me know to keep the faith”.
Some victims’ relatives felt the changes to the remembrance ceremony at New York’s Ground Zero had lessened the emotional impact.
“It’s another smack in the face,” said Jim Riches, who lost his son Jimmy, a firefighter. Mr Riches felt there should have been the option of reciting the names of the dead on the memorial plaza, instead of listening to a recording. But Jeff Bridges, 45, who lost a cousin, told The Daily Telegraph that he thought the service was “right” given the circumstances. “Sam wouldn’t have wanted his older relatives or anyone else’s to come here today and risk getting sick,” he said.