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U.S. President Donald Trump struck a somber tone Friday on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks as his Democratic rival Joe Biden comforted relatives of victims in dueling bids to unite a deeply-divided nation.
Nineteen years after the devastating Al-Qaeda attacks, former vice president Biden began the day in New York for an annual event honoring the nearly 3,000 who died in the destruction of the World Trade Center.
Trump did not attend the ceremony in his home city, sending Mike Pence instead. Biden and the vice president tapped elbows and chatted briefly.
The Republican president instead traveled to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where an airliner crashed after passengers tried to wrest control of the jet from the hijackers.
Trump and the First Lady Melania listened in silence as the names of the 40 passengers and crew killed aboard Flight 93 were read aloud – with two bells tolling after each. In brief prepared remarks, the incumbent – who is hoping to defeat Biden and win a second term – paid "tribute to their sacrifice" along with all those who perished in the attacks.
He also honored first responders as well as military personnel who fought to "preserve our freedom" in the subsequent wars launched under former president George W. Bush.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial, remembering those killed when hijacked Flight 93 crashed into an open field on September 11, 2001, in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, September 11, 2020. /Reuters
"We resolve to stand united as one American nation, to defend our freedoms, to uphold our values, to love our neighbors, to cherish our country.... and to never, ever forget," Trump said.
It was a rare call for unity from a leader who normally plays political divisions to his advantage. Biden also traveled to Shanksville but there was no chance of the rivals crossing paths, as Trump left well before the Democratic candidate and his wife Jill arrived.
As a few hundred spectators watched from the Flight 93 national memorial park, Biden laid a wreath of white flowers at the stone bearing the victims' names. He and his wife Jill again spoke with families, later meeting with local firefighters to whom the couple brought sweets and beer.
Long a Democratic stronghold and Biden's native state, Pennsylvania swung narrowly to Trump in the 2016 election, helping him secure victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Polls show Trump and Biden nearly even in Pennsylvania, and Democrats hope to win the state back in the November 3 vote.
(With input from AFP)
(Cover: Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen all stand with their hands over their hearts as they attend ceremonies marking the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center at the 911 Memorial Museum in New York City, New York, U.S., September 11, 2020. /Reuters)
