Biden and the potential 2024 presidential contenders have outlined their plans for honoring the September 11th anniversary.
Harris will team up with Biden, who touched down in New York City around 2 PM on Tuesday, for a commemoration event at Ground Zero in Manhattan on Wednesday morning. The pair will then trek to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to partake in a wreath-laying service at the Flight 93 memorial, as per White House announcements.
Later in the afternoon, they will both pay their respects with another wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
Former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, are slated to attend Ground Zero events too. Trump is also planned to visit Shanksville on Wednesday, according to an insider. It's uncertain if the two groups will intersect.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, will join an occasion marking the anniversary as well. His office did not disclose the event location.
Trump and Harris will have surpassed their initial in-person encounter at the presidential debate on Tuesday evening.
In contrast to past campaigners who have generally steered clear of politics on 9/11 anniversaries, this election cycle has been marked by its hostility. It remains to be seen if and how each campaign will introduce politics into the mix on Wednesday.
Approximately 3,000 individuals met their end when Islamic extremists hijacked four commercial airliners on September 11, 2001. Two planes were deliberately flown into each of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth came down in a rural Pennsylvania field after passengers tried to counteract the hijacking.
Last year, Biden celebrated the 22nd anniversary with a event featuring American military personnel in Alaska. During that event, the president incorrectly stated that he visited Ground Zero "the following day" after the attacks. He actually visited nine days later.
The president honored the anniversary at the Pentagon in 2022. In 2021, he and first lady Jill Biden also journeyed to each of the three sites of the terror attack. They were accompanied by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama at the New York tribute.
In the context of the election cycle's hostility, it might be interesting to see how politics are incorporated into the commemoration events by both the Trump and Harris camps. Despite their past differences, Harris and Biden will once again interact during their joint events on 9/11, including visiting Ground Zero, Shanksville, and the Pentagon.
