NEW YORK — New York observed the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Friday with a ceremony at Ground Zero that combined solemn remembrances with conspicuous political tensions, most notably over President Donald Trump’s absence from the Lower Manhattan observance.
The memorial at the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood was deliberately structured to avoid speeches, instead relying on family members of victims to read the names of those killed and on ceremonial bell tolls to mark key moments of the attacks that claimed the lives of 2,977 people.
Leaders in attendance, and notable absences
A number of senior political figures gathered at the memorial. Among those present were Vice-President JD Vance and the four living former U.S. presidents: George W. Bush — who led the United States when the attacks occurred — along with Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. In a departure from recent tradition, President Trump chose to pay his respects at the Pentagon rather than join the New York event.
The choice drew immediate attention given the ceremony’s intention to remain apolitical; it also fed public and media debate over the proper rituals of national mourning and the optics of presidential commemoration on a day of such symbolism.
Family voices and unresolved questions
Bereaved relatives delivered the core of the ceremony. Family members read the names of the victims, and the event refrained from formal addresses by politicians. Still, emotion spilled into unscripted remarks that highlighted lingering grievances about accountability and justice connected to the attacks.
“You are missed more with each year that passes, but how can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?”
The line, delivered by Terry Strada, the widow of Tom Strada, accused Saudi Arabia of complicity and criticised the former presidents attending the event. The statement recalled long-standing controversies about the national and international inquiries into the origins and support networks behind the hijackers, who were overwhelmingly Saudi nationals and whose attacks were planned by Osama bin Laden.
Local politics and backlash
The local political dimension sharpened the day’s tensions. The city’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, attended the Ground Zero memorial despite a concerted campaign urging him to stay away. That push was driven in part by a right-wing campaign, prominently led by the New York Post and supported by allies of the president, which objected to his presence.
The public dispute over the mayor’s attendance underscored how anniversaries of the attacks continue to be flashpoints for wider cultural and political disputes in the United States, touching on questions of identity, representation and the boundaries of public memory.
How the ceremony was conducted
Organisers kept the programme intentionally austere. The ceremony began shortly after 8:40 a.m. Eastern, with the sequence of name readings and bell tolls that families and survivors have adopted as the central ritual of 9/11 commemorations.
Observers noted the contrast between the intended apolitical tone and the unavoidable political subtext: presidential choices about where to appear on such an anniversary, the presence of former presidents from different parties, and the invocation of international grievances by family members combined to make the ceremony a moment of reflection about both the past and its unresolved consequences.
- Event: 25th anniversary memorial at Ground Zero
- Notable figures: Vice-President JD Vance; former presidents George W. Bush, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton; Mayor Zohran Mamdani
- Controversies: President Trump’s absence from New York; right-wing calls for the mayor to skip the event; family demands for accountability regarding Saudi Arabia
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| President (absent) | Donald Trump |
| Vice-President | JD Vance |
| Former presidents | George W. Bush, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton |
| New York mayor | Zohran Mamdani |
Whatever the political disagreements that surfaced, the core act of the day remained remembrance: the reading of names, family recollection and the ritual tolling of bells. Those elements continued to serve as the primary public architecture for national grief and reflection — even as some attendees used the moment to press for answers and accountability that, for many families, remain unresolved a quarter-century after the attacks.
