Trump to mark the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 at the Pentagon, forgoing a visit to ground zero
By Alayna Treene, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker, will forgo a visit to ground zero for the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks to instead mark the occasion with remarks at the Pentagon, two people briefed on the plans tell CNN.
Trump is not attending the ceremony that will be held at the World Trade Center in part because he wants to deliver remarks, the people familiar with his plans said. Politicians have long not been permitted to speak at the event in New York.
The president’s team had initially discussed having him travel to New York City for the anniversary of the attacks, the sources said, with early plans having Trump attend the memorial ceremony at ground zero.
However, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, which runs the event and oversees the site, has prevented politicians from speaking there since 2012, noting their commitment to remaining nonpartisan. Trump, the sources said, told his team he wanted to give a speech, which led to the change in plans.
Trump will now visit the Pentagon, the site of another terror attack on Sept. 11, next month. Vice President JD Vance will attend the ceremony at the World Trade Center, the sources said.
The New York Times first reported on Trump’s plan to skip the 9/11 ceremony in New York, noting the president’s desire to deliver remarks.
In a statement, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CNN, “As a proud New Yorker, President Trump has spoken about his own experiences watching the horrific events of September 11, 2001,” adding that the president in his remarks this year “will remember those who were killed at the hands of evil terrorists, honor their loved ones, and pay tribute to the brave first responders who put their lives on the line to rescue their fellow Americans.”
Unlike ground zero, the president is allowed to deliver remarks at the Pentagon. He spoke there on 9/11 last year — one day after the assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk, whom he referenced in his speech.
Trump opened those remarks by addressing “the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt,” and later announced he would be awarding Kirk, posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He went on to state that those who perished on September 11, 2001, would never be forgotten.
“In the quarter of a century since those acts of mass murder, 9/11 family members have felt the weight of missed birthdays and empty bedrooms, journals left unfinished and dreams left unfulfilled,” Trump said. “To every member that still feels a void every day of your lives, the first lady and I unite with you in sorrow. And today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget September 11th, 2001.”
Trump, who was in New York on the day of the attacks in 2001, attended the 9/11 memorial in New York City in previous years, including in 2016 as the GOP presidential nominee and again in 2024 ahead of his second election.
As sitting president during his first term, he attended and spoke at the commemorative events held at the Pentagon and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
In 2021, the 20th anniversary of the attacks, he visited a New York Police Department precinct and a New York City Fire Department station in Manhattan.
Trump’s plans to speak in Washington this year, rather than in New York City, may also allow for a smoother trip to Ireland, which the president is slated to visit the day after 9/11.
He is scheduled to travel on September 12 to his golf course in Doonbeg, on the country’s Atlantic coast, where the Irish Open golf tournament will be held, a White House official said.
The-CNN-Wire
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