President Donald Trump honored the memories of those who perished in the heinous terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, during a special ceremony, heralding the resilient American spirit.
“Time itself stood still,” President Trump said in his remarks. “The laughter of schoolchildren fell silent; the rush of traffic came to an absolute halt.”
24 years ago, nearly 3,000 souls lost their lives at the hands of terrorists who targeted the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, shocking and horrifying the entire world.
On Thursday, the president continued, “In the quarter of a century since those acts of mass murder, 9/11 families have felt the weight of missed birthdays and empty bedrooms, journals left unfinished, and dreams left unfulfilled. To every [family] member that still feels the 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 11, 2001.”
The president praised the unbreakable American spirit, noting, “We take blows, but we never buckle. We bleed, but we do not bow, and we defy fear, endure the flames, and emerge from the crucible of every hardship stronger, prouder, and greater than ever before.”
“The enemy will always fail,” Trump added. “24 years have passed since that Tuesday morning in September, and an entire generation of Americans has come of age in a totally different world. While they cannot remember the agony of that day, they are carrying on the legacy of those we lost.”
President Trump was extremely solemn as he spoke on Thursday morning, reflecting on the horrific day that claimed so many American lives in 2001, while acknowledging the political assassination just one day prior of Turning Point USA Founder and President Charlie Kirk.
The president announced during his remarks that he would soon be awarding Kirk, posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
President Trump and the First Lady also laid a wreath at the Pentagon, honoring the memory of those who perished on September 11. The president also signed a book honoring the victims’ memories: “We love you all,” he wrote.