Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Trump and their running mates attended several memorial events today marking the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, sparking discussions on politicizing the day.
All four were in Manhattan on Wednesday morning for the commemoration event at Ground Zero. Trump and Harris exchanged a cordial handshake just hours after their first presidential debate last night.
President Joe Biden is facing backlash after his remarks to reporters days ago about his upcoming schedule. “I’m going up to my granddaughter’s birthday in New York. Then we’re going to watch the debate, and tomorrow I’m doing 9/11,” he said. A widow of slain FDNY fire chief made remarks about his ‘flippant’ comment of ‘doing 9/11’.
The President and Vice President traveled to Shanksville in Somerset County, Pennsylvania to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Flight 93 memorial. Both Biden and Harris and Trump stopped by local Shanksville fire stations, and the President appeared to put on a MAGA hat during remarks as a ‘gesture of unity and bipartisanship’.
The convergence of presidential candidates at these somber events has sparked a public discussion on whether their presence politicizes the day meant for honoring the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the 2001 attacks.
