Trump visits firefighters in Manhattan on September 11, 2024.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. So you might think that the president of the United States, a native New Yorker who was in the city on 9/11, would certainly attend this year’s ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
And it seems President Trump was indeed planning to attend the annual ceremony at ground zero once again — until he learned he wouldn’t be allowed to speak. The New York Times reports that the White House had started preparing for Trump to go to the ceremony, which he last attended in 2024 along with then-President Joe Biden:
Mr. Trump’s team had conducted advance visits at the site and had initially signaled to officials in New York and in Washington that the president intended to visit the memorial space known as ground zero, two of the people with knowledge of the events said.
The president’s interest in speaking on Sept. 11 was conveyed to memorial planners in recent weeks, three of the people with knowledge of the events said.
But now Trump is no longer planning to go, “in part because he wanted to deliver a speech and the annual event has long barred remarks, according to four people with knowledge of the events,” per the Times.
Trump has said some absolutely wild things about 9/11 over the years, and any time he delivers a speech there’s a decent chance he’ll go off-script and start ranting about the “radical left lunatics” or his legendary beef with windmills. So it would be understandable if the event’s organizers did not want the president to deliver a speech, but this actually isn’t a Trump-specific policy:
But since 2012, politicians have been barred from speaking at the site. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, has worked rigorously to keep the venue nonpartisan and focused on the solemnity of the day.
Instead of going to New York, Trump is expected to commemorate the tragedy at the Pentagon. He delivered remarks at the Arlington, Virginia, memorial event last year and in 2017. Vice-President J.D. Vance is expected to represent the White House at the New York memorial.
There is also a 9/11 commemoration on the schedule at the Republican Midterm Convention, the unprecedented off-year party gathering that will take place in Dallas, Texas, on September 9 and 10. Trump is scheduled to speak at that event starting at 9 p.m. ET on September 10. The Times reports that this, and plans for Trump to jet off to Ireland for a golf event, contributed to his decision to bail on the New York event:
There are other considerations that led to Mr. Trump honoring the day in Washington, including that he will depart the next day for his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, where the Irish Open tournament will take place. Leaving from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, or from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, would snarl air and motor traffic to a much greater extent than with Mr. Trump leaving from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
There will be plenty of presidential representation at the Manhattan memorial. In addition to the current vice-president, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and Barack Obama are expected to attend. Presumably, they aren’t crushed about missing out on a bleary-eyed Trump speech during the event.
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