4,385 nasty miles apart
Biden, taking heat on migrants, shuns NYC for Alaska on 9/11
We like round numbers: 20th anniversary, 30th anniversary, the Golden Jubilee. But the 22nd anniversary of an evil terrorist attack on New York City and the rest of the nation is no less of a reason for the president of the United States to visit the World Trade Center and lay a wreath or something.
President Biden, it turns out, is in the midst of a nasty — and petty — feud with city and state officials over the city’s growing migrant crisis.
Instead, Biden will attend a 9/11 commemoration ceremony with military families on a patch of soil that seems about as far away from New York City as one can get — Anchorage, Alaska.
The president will be returning from a previously planned state visit to Vietnam on Sunday, which means he won’t attend the solemn event in lower Manhattan for the second straight year.
That also means the tough-talking leader of the free world will avoid the awkward photo op with Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul, who have been feuding with the president and each other over a migrant crisis that, to use Adams’ words, “will destroy New York City.”
Okay, Mr. Mayor. Slow your roll. Sept. 11 didn’t destroy New York City. And neither will this.
But Adams is right to expect Biden to do more to help resolve the crisis, by either fast tracking work authorizations or getting other cities and states across the country to share the load.
And, Biden could have done more to make sure he wasn’t in Alaska, of all places, on one of the most solemn days in New York City.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are expected at the Ground Zero event on Monday marking the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on American soil, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
Planes hijacked that day also struck the Pentagon and a remote field in Shanksville, Pa.
Although it’s not a round number commemoration, the anniversary does mark a milestone moment.
The number of firefighters who have died from 9/11-related illnesses is now eerily close to the number of firefighter heroes, 343, who perished during the initial attack.
To date, 342 FDNY members have died of World Trade Center-related illnesses.
“As we approach the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, the FDNY continues to feel the impact of that day. Each year, this memorial wall grows as we honor those who gave their lives in service of others,” said Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.
“These brave men and women showed up that day, and in the days and months following the attacks to participate in the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site. We will never forget them.”
Among those who will be remembered on Monday is Firefighter Joseph Maloney, who perished that day when the Twin Towers collapsed.
Last month, his son, Joseph, graduated from the city’s fire academy, and is eager to carry on the legacy.
His wife just had a baby.
“I was in the fifth grade. I was 11 years old at the time,” Maloney said.
“Members of the FDNY family really did help. My dad’s best friends always made sure they were there. That first year, we’d go to functions and we were always taken care of. That’s the most exciting part, getting back into the family.”
So, no, Maloney and many of the others don’t need comforting words from the president to get through the dark day. But Alaska? Really? On 9/11?
Are any of the migrants going there?