A quarter-century after the September 11, 2001 attacks, officials across the United States have participated in memorial services and commemorations to remember the 2,977 victims and those who risked their lives as part of the rescue efforts.
The incident is considered the worst “terrorist” attack in U.S. history.
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Four planes were hijacked. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, causing the twin towers to collapse. The third bullet struck the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. And a fourth plane plummeted into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew rose up against the attackers.
On Friday, U.S. leaders took a variety of approaches to commemorate the thousands of lives lost on that fateful day, including through social media messages, street speeches and appearances at ceremonies.
Here’s what they said:
US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump chose to stay in Washington, D.C. to celebrate his 25th anniversary.
During the attack, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, home to the US military, killing 184 people near the capital.
President Trump chose not to attend Friday’s ceremony on the grounds of the World Trade Center in New York, which was attended by all living presidents.
His vice president, J.D. Vance, traveled to New York instead. Political speeches will not be allowed at the ceremony at the World Trade Center.
President Trump described the incident as “true evil” in remarks at the Pentagon. He also paid tribute to those who died in the attack.
“We will honor their lives, cherish their beautiful memories, and protect this country and its freedoms for all future generations,” President Trump said.
The president also appeared to link the 9/11 attacks to the administration’s war on Iran and praised the U.S. military.
“We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today. We have no choice. We have no choice but to win,” Trump said.
“We salute the military personnel currently working to ensure that the Islamic Republic of Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, never acquires nuclear weapons,” he later added.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also spoke at the Pentagon, speaking immediately before Trump’s remarks.
He warned his audience to practice “eternal vigilance” against what he called continuing threats.
“There are still enemies who hate us. Every day, enemies, including foreign and domestic Islamic terrorists, plot to curb our power and kill our people,” he said.
He appears to have used the 9/11 attacks to justify the US-Israel war against Iran, which began on February 28th.
“Over the past six months, we have destroyed the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism,” Hegseth said, referring to Iran. “For nearly half a century, our fighters have been fighting an Islamic theocracy that wanted us dead and cheered on 9/11.”
He went on to claim that the US military has destroyed Iran’s defenses and that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for international trade.
Iran has suspended commercial traffic through the strait since the start of the war.
“We are still sending terrorists to hell where they belong and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong,” Hegseth said. “And we guarantee that Iran will never have nuclear weapons. The economic pressure is increasing every day. We control the straits. We will end this fight.”
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani attended a memorial service in New York along with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led the city in the attack.
Giuliani shook Mamdani’s hand before the event began, despite asking Mamdani not to attend the event.
Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, has recently come under fire from some conservative politicians and victims’ families, who say his presence at the memorial would be offensive.
A Change.org petition has garnered more than 100,000 signatures from people who want to express their concerns about Mamdani’s participation.
Like all politicians who attended the national September 11th commemoration, Mamdani was not allowed to speak.
Instead, the mayor released a video on social media memorializing the victims and calling on the public to honor their memory by doing good deeds.
“After 25 years, we have a sacred duty to those taken from us: to care for each other as we cared for strangers; to live lives worthy of the sacrifices they made; and to build a city worthy of their courage; a city in which we run toward one another,” Mamdani said.
“That’s how we remember.”
On Tuesday, the city of Mamdani also released a trove of unpublished documents suggesting city officials downplayed and even tried to mislead initial residents about the dangerous air quality after the attack.
US Senate Candidate Abdul Elsayed
Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed took to social media platform X to honor the lives lost in what he described as a “brutal act of terrorism.”
El-Sayed is in a close race in Michigan against his Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers.
Michigan’s open Senate seat is considered a must-win for Democrats to regain control of the Senate.
Mr. Rogers is trying to stir up controversy over Mr. El-Sayed’s past comments about the Sept. 11 attacks. He pointed to audio in which El-Sayed reportedly said, “9/11 hurt our country deeply, but what we did after 9/11 hurt millions of people.”
On Thursday, at the Republican Party’s first midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Rogers accused Mr. El-Sayed, who is Muslim, of having sympathies with terrorists. He also sought to highlight links between El-Sayed and left-wing internet commentator Hasan Pikar.
“Twenty-five years after 9/11, I never imagined I would be running against someone who is campaigning for Hassan Piker, who we think America deserves,” Rogers said. “Yes, but I’m here.”
But on Friday, El-Sayed used a social media post to hit back at Rodgers’ attacks.
“Nothing can justify the killing of innocent civilians. Nothing,” El-Sayed wrote.
He also called on Americans to honor the lives lost and build a country that is “more inclusive, more empowered, and more just.”
“They didn’t just attack America that day. They attacked America’s ideals,” El-Sayed said of the 19 al-Qaeda hijackers who took part in the attack.
“The idea of a nation united by ideals, where it doesn’t matter how we pray or whether we pray. A place where our commitment to freedom and justice binds us, even if we sometimes struggle to fully realize them.”
