Trump to mark 9/11 anniversary at Pentagon as Biden attends Ground Zero ceremony
Donald Trump will be the only living former US president absent from the Ground Zero memorial on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, with Joe Biden confirmed to attend the New York City ceremony.
Donald Trump will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Pentagon, making him the only living former US president who will not attend the Ground Zero memorial ceremony in New York City. Joe Biden, who served as president until January 2025, has confirmed he will be present at the lower Manhattan site where the Twin Towers once stood.
The split in appearances underscores the enduring political divisions that have shaped how the United States remembers the deadliest terrorist attack on its soil. While Biden will join families of victims, first responders, and current and former officials at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, Trump is expected to participate in a separate commemoration at the Department of Defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building.
The 25th anniversary carries particular weight as the nation reflects on a quarter-century since the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered the global war on terror. The commemorations come at a moment when the political landscape has shifted dramatically, with Trump back in the White House and Biden having left office after a single term. Their separate choices of venue highlight how the annual day of remembrance has become entangled with the broader partisan climate in American public life.
Historically, presidents of both parties have used the anniversary to project national unity. George W. Bush, who was in office during the attacks, attended Ground Zero ceremonies for years, as did Barack Obama during his presidency. Biden attended the New York memorial while serving as vice president and later as president. Trump himself visited Ground Zero during his 2016 campaign and attended memorial events in New York during his presidency, including the 2018 ceremony.
This year, however, Trump's decision to appear at the Pentagon rather than in New York breaks with the pattern set by his recent predecessors. The Pentagon ceremony honours the 184 people killed at the military headquarters, while the New York event remembers the 2,753 victims who died at the World Trade Center. A third site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers fought back against the hijackers, also holds its own annual observance.
The divergence in the former presidents' schedules is likely to draw attention given the symbolic importance of the milestone anniversary. Organisers of the New York ceremony traditionally read the names of the dead aloud for hours, a ritual that has continued uninterrupted since 2002. Family members of victims have repeatedly urged political leaders to set aside differences on the day, though the request has grown harder to fulfil as the country's political divide has widened.
Biden's attendance was confirmed by his office ahead of the event, according to reports. Trump's participation at the Pentagon was also announced in advance, with the White House indicating that he would honour the military personnel and civilians who died there. Neither former president is scheduled to appear at the other's chosen venue, meaning the two men will commemorate the anniversary separately for the first time since both left the White House.
The 25th anniversary also comes as the long-term consequences of the attacks continue to shape US policy. The wars launched in Afghanistan and Iraq in response to 9/11 formally ended years ago, but their legacy remains visible in veterans' healthcare, counterterrorism operations, and the structure of American intelligence agencies. The Department of Homeland Security, created in the aftermath of the attacks, now employs hundreds of thousands of people, and the USA Patriot Act expanded surveillance powers that remain controversial.
For many Americans, the day remains one of personal mourning rather than political symbolism. Fire departments, police precincts, and community groups across the country will hold moments of silence at 8:46 am Eastern Time, the moment the first hijacked plane struck the North Tower. The names of the dead will be read in New York, bells will toll at the Pentagon, and wreaths will be laid in Shanksville, as they have been every year since 2001.
