Joe Biden Honors 9/11 Attack Victims, Says Unity Is Our Greatest Strength
U.S. President Joe Biden paid tribute to the lives lost during the 9/11 attacks on Friday. Just a day before the president visits three sites marking the anniversary of the nation’s worst terror attack, Biden delivered an impassioned appeal for the nation to set aside its differences and reclaim the spirit of cooperation that sprung up in the days following the attacks.
“Unity is what makes us who we are – America at its best,” Biden said. “To me that’s the central lesson of September 11,” he added. “Unity is our greatest strength.”
This 9/11 comes little more than two weeks after a suicide bomber in Kabul killed 13 U.S. service members as the military concluded its withdrawal from Afghanistan. And as Afghanistan returns to Taliban rule, there are fresh concerns that the country could again be a launching pad for attacks that Biden’s government will be charged with preventing.
The president will commemorate the solemn anniversary on Saturday by paying his respects at the trio of sites where the hijacked planes struck, puncturing the United States’ air of invincibility and resulting in the deaths of 3,000 Americans.
While the 9/11 ceremonies don’t call for him to make public remarks, Biden released a video Friday to remember those who lost their lives, comfort their families and honor the courage and sacrifice of first responders and servicemembers over the last 20 years.
First on Saturday for the president will be a stop in New York City, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center were toppled as a horrified world watched on television. Then, a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a plane fell from the sky after heroic passengers fought terrorists to prevent it from reaching its Washington destination. And finally, the Pentagon, where the world’s mightiest military suffered an unthinkable blow to its very home.
Biden’s task, like his predecessors before him, will be mark the moment with a mix of grief and resolve. A man who has suffered immense personal tragedy, Biden speaks of loss with power and eloquence, and he has repeatedly addressed the grief caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 600,000 lives across the country.
