As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, four former U.S. presidents attended New York City’s commemorative ceremony.
Former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Joe Biden were present at the somber ceremony at the National Sept. 11 Memorial in downtown Manhattan. They were also joined by former first ladies, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Jill Biden.
Several other officials and politicians, including Vice President JD Vance and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, were also in attendance.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former US President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and former US President Barack Obama attend the 25th anniversary commemoration.AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump remained in Washington, D.C. to attend a ceremony at the Pentagon.
At the memorial, the former presidents stood up solemnly as a youth choir sang the national anthem.
Though none of the four made public remarks at the ceremony, some of the former presidents recently shared their thoughts and reflections on the tragedy.
In a statement posted on social media, Bill Clinton said that “we can’t erase the nightmare that so many have lived through and are still living with today.”
“But we can support the people who have given and lost so much by treating one another with respect, in person and online, and recognizing that what we have in common is far more important than what divides us,” Clinton said in the statement shared on X.
Dr. Jill Biden, Former President Joe Biden, Laura Bush, Former President George W. Bush, Michael Bloomberg and Vice President JD Vance attend the ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Getty Images North America
Clinton partnered with the late Sen. Bob Dole, his Republican opponent in the 1996 general election, to launch the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund shortly after the attacks. He said in his statement that the fund has awarded more than $193 million in scholarships to nearly 4,000 children and spouses of people who were killed or permanently disabled by the attacks.
Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama shared a statement on social media in remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001.
In the statement, the Obamas said that they are “remembering those we lost that day and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the wars that followed.” They also said that they are praying for the families who lost loved ones that day.
First Lady Jill Biden, former US President Joe Biden and former US President George W. Bush attend the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York.AFP via Getty Images
“We hope Americans everywhere remember the true lesson of 9/11: that we can survive even our darkest days as long as we move forward as one nation and one people,” the Obamas said in the statement.
On Sept. 9 at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Former President George W. Bush recalled his first message to the nation following the terrorist attacks in 2001.
Bush was visiting schoolchildren in Florida when he was told by an aide that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
“I didn’t have much time to process that, but it was pretty clear to me that if we were under attack, then my job was to defend the child that was reading to me, and her family, and her country,” Bush said, according to a broadcast of the event by C-SPAN.
“In this case, I became a wartime president,” he added.