Donald Trump disrespects solemn September 11, ceremonies by throwing a temper tantrum because he cannot give a speech at ground zero
On Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on New York City's twin towers, the Pentagon and the terrorist highjacked airplane crash in Pennsylvania, is a milestone memorial. Americans will remember the terrorism attacks that took at least 2,977 lives on September 11, 2001. The deadliest attack on the United States of America, 9/11 is seared indelibly in our nation’s memory. Editorial Board opinion in the Sun Sentinel.
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| NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: (SEPTEMBER 11 RETROSPECTIVE) Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center after they were hit by two hijacked airliners in a terrorist attack September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Giroux/Getty Images) |
As with another day of infamy at Pearl Harbor nearly 60 years earlier, just about everyone still living can recall where they were and what they were doing when they heard about it.
Once again, the nation’s defenses were down, beguiled by a presumption of invulnerability.
The memorial services this week are an occasion to renew the vow “Never again.”
The reasons to remember:😔 More importantly, they honor the nearly 3,000 men, women and children who paid the highest possible price on 9/11. They are the reasons to remember.
Most of the victims, including 343 New York City firefighters, will be honored at the site of the World Trade Center, the first of the terrorists’ targets, where hijacked airplanes destroyed the iconic twin towers on a Tuesday morning.
Other ceremonies will be at the Pentagon and at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa., which credits the passengers and crew who fought their hijackers with saving the U.S. Capitol.
All four living former presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, plan to attend the New York City ceremony at Ground Zero.
Unfinished business: Friday would not be the appropriate moment, but there needs to be a renewed discussion on the legacy of 9/11 — on what has been accomplished or remains undone 25 years later.
Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible, was driven from Afghanistan, its leadership decapitated, the chief planner of 9/11 put in prison. But its remnants persist in scattered forms around the Middle East, a threat not to be taken lightly.
The lessons of the unnecessary war in Iraq and the overlong presence in Afghanistan failed to deter Trump from plunging the U.S. into a poorly planned, uncalled for war with Iran for which there is no end in sight.
And trials have yet to be held for four of the five men accused of the 9/11 plot — a fifth has been found mentally incompetent — who have been held in U.S. custody since 2002, and 2003. The self-proclaimed mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is scheduled for trial at Guantanamo Bay in 2028.
His confessions after prolonged torture by the CIA have been ruled inadmissible, properly so. That, too, is a lesson to be remembered.
Since 2021, the New York 9/11 anniversary planners have not allowed speeches by any politicians. The ceremony is solemnly devoted to reading the names of those who died there. The silent presence of dignitaries should suffice.
That will be especially moving on Biden’s part, considering he is suffering from metastasized cancer.
Once again, the nation’s defenses were down, beguiled by a presumption of invulnerability.
The memorial services this week are an occasion to renew the vow “Never again.”
The reasons to remember:😔 More importantly, they honor the nearly 3,000 men, women and children who paid the highest possible price on 9/11. They are the reasons to remember.
Most of the victims, including 343 New York City firefighters, will be honored at the site of the World Trade Center, the first of the terrorists’ targets, where hijacked airplanes destroyed the iconic twin towers on a Tuesday morning.
Other ceremonies will be at the Pentagon and at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa., which credits the passengers and crew who fought their hijackers with saving the U.S. Capitol.
All four living former presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, plan to attend the New York City ceremony at Ground Zero.
An unseemly Trump boycott, Donald Trump does not plan to attend. Insead, Trump is scheduled to be at the Pentagon ceremony instead. That’s despite his advance team having scouted the New York site. Vice President JD Vance will represent him there.
As the New York Times told readers, Trump’s choice bespeaks several of his unsavory traits, specifically vanity, petulance, arrogance and narcissism. The paper said his snubbing of the event is because he wouldn’t be allowed to give a speech.
Trump will speak at the Pentagon, where he also spoke on September 11, 2025. He’s the boss. Nobody would stop him from being the center of attention there — certainly not Pete Hegseth.
As the New York Times told readers, Trump’s choice bespeaks several of his unsavory traits, specifically vanity, petulance, arrogance and narcissism. The paper said his snubbing of the event is because he wouldn’t be allowed to give a speech.
Trump will speak at the Pentagon, where he also spoke on September 11, 2025. He’s the boss. Nobody would stop him from being the center of attention there — certainly not Pete Hegseth.
A verbal hissy fit: Trump threw a verbal hissy fit over the Times’ article, larding a social media post with insults aimed at Maggie Haberman, one of the reporters who wrote it.
It never seems to occur to him that the louder and more vituperative his outbursts, the more they confirm what he’s trying to deny. A prudent politician would have tried to deflate the issue with a simple “not true.”
The White House cover story makes it worse. He’s scheduled to depart the next day for his golf course in Ireland for the British Open tournament. Leaving from any of the major New York area airports would disrupt more traffic than a departure from Washington, so they say.
But the inconvenience to civilian air travel in the vicinity of New York never seems to occur to him when he flies, often, to his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., or to attend events in the city, such as the U.N. General Assembly.
Once again, taxpayers will foot the bill for Air Force One and his large retinue so Trump can pump up the patronage and profits at one of his properties.
It’s just as well, perhaps, that he will not be at Ground Zero Friday. It’s a pity that we have a president whose presence would detract, in many eyes, from the dignity of the event and the memory of the victims.
It never seems to occur to him that the louder and more vituperative his outbursts, the more they confirm what he’s trying to deny. A prudent politician would have tried to deflate the issue with a simple “not true.”
The White House cover story makes it worse. He’s scheduled to depart the next day for his golf course in Ireland for the British Open tournament. Leaving from any of the major New York area airports would disrupt more traffic than a departure from Washington, so they say.
But the inconvenience to civilian air travel in the vicinity of New York never seems to occur to him when he flies, often, to his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., or to attend events in the city, such as the U.N. General Assembly.
Once again, taxpayers will foot the bill for Air Force One and his large retinue so Trump can pump up the patronage and profits at one of his properties.
It’s just as well, perhaps, that he will not be at Ground Zero Friday. It’s a pity that we have a president whose presence would detract, in many eyes, from the dignity of the event and the memory of the victims.
Unfinished business: Friday would not be the appropriate moment, but there needs to be a renewed discussion on the legacy of 9/11 — on what has been accomplished or remains undone 25 years later.
Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible, was driven from Afghanistan, its leadership decapitated, the chief planner of 9/11 put in prison. But its remnants persist in scattered forms around the Middle East, a threat not to be taken lightly.
The lessons of the unnecessary war in Iraq and the overlong presence in Afghanistan failed to deter Trump from plunging the U.S. into a poorly planned, uncalled for war with Iran for which there is no end in sight.
And trials have yet to be held for four of the five men accused of the 9/11 plot — a fifth has been found mentally incompetent — who have been held in U.S. custody since 2002, and 2003. The self-proclaimed mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is scheduled for trial at Guantanamo Bay in 2028.
His confessions after prolonged torture by the CIA have been ruled inadmissible, properly so. That, too, is a lesson to be remembered.
Since 2021, the New York 9/11 anniversary planners have not allowed speeches by any politicians. The ceremony is solemnly devoted to reading the names of those who died there. The silent presence of dignitaries should suffice.
That will be especially moving on Biden’s part, considering he is suffering from metastasized cancer.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board
Labels: Maggie Haberman, New York Times, Pentagon, Sun Sentinel
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 6:26 AM
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