President Donald Trump observed Friday’s 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by attending a ceremony at the Pentagon. It’s the second year in a row for Trump to mark the day at the Pentagon.
The president is originally from New York and last attended the ground zero ceremony there in 2024.
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Friday’s milestone anniversary brought memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims’ names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll.
Former presidents attend 9/11 ceremony in New York
The four living former presidents were in Manhattan for the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at the city’s ceremony at ground zero.
Former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Joe Biden could been seen mingling with attendees at the National Sept. 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan on Friday morning.
Vice President JD Vance also attended the ceremony in New York, while Trump was at an observance at the Pentagon.
American flag unfurled at the Pentagon
In a downpour at daybreak, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top military officials stood outside and watched as the giant American flag was unfurled on the building struck by a hijacked plane a quarter century ago.
US marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks
Americans are commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11, remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.
For many it’s an occasion for private reflection — or, in many schools, education — about the attack that unfolded in a single morning but left nearly 3,000 dead and a decades-long trail of aftermath, from personal grief to far-flung wars.
Planned remembrances extend far beyond the attack sites, from beams of light projecting from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington to a stair climb at Mississippi State University’s football stadium to a ceremony at Honolulu’s 9/11 memorial.
Trump commemorates 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon
President Donald Trump spent his morning at the Pentagon commemorating the lives lost when al-Qaida militants hijacked planes and killed nearly 3,000 people in three locations, upending American foreign policy and national security.
During last year’s commemoration at the Pentagon, Trump delivered remarks recounting moments from the day of the attacks, including snippets of conversations from passengers who were aboard the hijacked airplanes.
