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President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s going to be at the Pentagon to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
A reporter on Friday asked the president why he was not planning to be in New York for the somber occasion.
“Because I’m going to the Pentagon,” Trump shouted to the press at Joint Base Andrews.
On Thursday, The New York Times reported that Trump was not planning to attend the ceremony at Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers came down, because he wouldn’t be allowed to give a speech. The annual event has banned politicians from speaking since 2012.
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When asked about the Times report, a White House spokeswoman called Trump a “proud New Yorker.”
“President Trump has spoken about his own experiences watching the horrific events of September 11, 2001. On the 25th anniversary of this tragic day, the President will remember those who were killed at the hands of evil terrorists, honor their loved ones, and pay tribute to the brave first responders who put their lives on the line to rescue their fellow Americans,” White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News.
“The vice president is still traveling to NYC and all three sites will be represented with administration officials in attendance,” a White House official said, referring to the three Sept. 11 attack sites in Manhattan, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed.
After TMZ posted on X that Trump was “snubbing” the Ground Zero ceremony, White House communications director Steven Cheung fired back.
“FAKE NEWS,” Cheung wrote.
Trump lambasted the reporter behind in the Times article, writing on Truth Social Friday that she “made up a story that on September 11th, I’m not going to the World Trade Center, in New York City, because they won’t let me make a speech, and I’m going to the Pentagon in D.C., because I’m a featured speaker.”
“This is more Corrupt News, I’ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it’s a ‘solemn ceremony!'” Trump wrote in part.
Trump said, “I would love not to speak, because I’m speaking all the time, and this is a day to remember the victims, and their beautiful family members.”
Last year, Trump also chose to speak at the Pentagon for the 24th anniversary of 9/11, though he traveled to New York City later in the day to attend a Yankees game.
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The last time he attended the Ground Zero ceremony was in 2024, when he was the Republican presidential nominee. He was there alongside then-President Joe Biden and his election rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump also did not attend the Ground Zero ceremony during his first term. He spoke at the Pentagon in 2017, then alternated in subsequent years between commemorations there and at the site in Pennsylvania.
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Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda hijackers crashed three commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Hijackers also seized United Airlines Flight 93, but passengers fought back before the plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
The 9/11 attacks, which remain the deadliest in the nation’s history, prompted the invasion of Afghanistan and helped usher in the broader War on Terror, which later included the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
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