President Donald Trump is set to observe 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.
Friday’s milestone anniversary will bring 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.
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Security is tight at the ceremony in New York
Police officers stationed around the perimeter of the event are checking tickets and credentials to ensure only invited guests, such as victim relatives, survivors and first responders, and others connected to the event are allowed through. That’s before a full security screening at the entrance to the site, which is surrounded by the type of steel fencing now familiar at high-profile events.
Along with that, the streets are filled with the apparatus of police and emergency response — NYPD vehicles lining the western perimeter, heavily armed and armored counterterrorism officers patrolling the nearby subway stations, and flashing police lights abound.
As the memorial goes on, so does life around ground zero
New Yorkers going about their days mixed with 9/11 family members, firefighters and other first responders on the streets and sidewalks of lower Manhattan.
People jogged by in brightly colored running attire. Others hoisted American flags. People clasped iced coffees and bagged pastries. A woman outside a church sold buttons commemorating the occasion. A man thanked the two police officers guarding the perimeter for their service.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wipes away tears at the 9/11 memorial
He was the CEO of the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald when the attack on the World Trade Center killed 658 of its 960 employees.
He survived because he was taking his son to school when the attack happened. His brother, Gary Lutnick, was among those who died.
At the memorial Friday, Lutnick wiped away a tear, but also smiled as he looked fondly at the names of Cantor Fitzgerald employees inscribed on the parapets that ring the footprints of the fallen towers.
Former presidents attend 9/11 ceremony in New York
Four former presidents are 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 is also attending the ceremony in New York, while President Donald Trump will attend 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.
Friday’s milestone anniversary will bring 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.
For others 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.
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Trump to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon
President Donald Trump is set to observe Friday’s 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by attending a ceremony 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.
It’s the second year in a row for Trump to mark the day at the Pentagon. The president, who is originally from New York, last attended the ground zero ceremony there in 2024.
Vice President JD Vance is set to attend the New York observance alongside former presidents, while other administration officials will go to the ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Vance had planned to be in New York for the anniversary last year but instead flew to Salt Lake City to be with the family of Charlie Kirk after the conservative activist was assassinated.
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.
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