Trump to attend Pentagon ceremony marking 25 years since 9/11 attacks
Donald Trump will join a ceremony at the Pentagon on Friday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a memorial service at the Pentagon on Friday, marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people. The event follows a pattern of Trump’s participation at the Pentagon for two consecutive years, after his appearance at the Ground Zero ceremony in 2024. Vice President JD Vance will be in New York for a separate tribute, with additional administration members traveling to Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Earlier this week, Trump spoke at an Ellipse gathering where a 21-foot steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center was showcased, part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” tour. He also issued a proclamation naming Friday Patriot Day 2026 and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to a robust military. The Republican midterms convention in Dallas featured families and firefighters, with the victims’ names displayed on a screen and a bell rung in remembrance.
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Why it matters
The ceremony underscores the administration’s continued emphasis on national security and remembrance of 9/11 victims.
How this story developed
- Sep 7 Trump reiterates disputed 9/11 rescue claim as anniversary approaches
- Sep 8 Trump added the Medal of Freedom award for Welles Crowther and the cutter‑naming announcement to the memorial event.
- Sep 10 Construction of the 2 WTC tower, designed by Foster+Partners, began near the memorial, while Mayor Zohran Mamdani presided over the commemorative ceremony.
- Sep 10 The city is preparing its traditional memorial service at the former World Trade Center site, which normally includes six silent pauses for key moments of the attacks. This year a seventh pause will be added to honor the thousands who succumbed to illnesses linked to the disaster long after the event. Officials note that many first-responders and survivors continue to suffer health problems, and a long-term health program was created in 2011 to provide ongoing care. Retired police lieutenant Thomas Wilson, who worked at Ground Zero, is among those whose cancers have been attributed to the attacks.
- Sep 11 Groundbreaking for 2 World Trade Center took place during the annual memorial ceremony.
- Sep 11 The ceremony will feature a seventh silent moment for the first time.
- Sep 11 Analyst David Rothkopf labeled Trump’s 9/11 rescue claim a desperate hero myth.
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