NBC News reports that just hours after the debate, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met again during the 9/11 ceremony in New York City.
The two presidential nominees stood close to each other at the site of Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan after shaking hands and engaging in a brief conversation. President Joe Biden and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg stood in between Harris and Trump as GOP Vice Presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), former New York City Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) looked on.
Just 12 hours
prior, the two met for the first time ever while debating key topics that concern the American people. Tuesday’s handshake between Harris and Trump ended an eight-year streak of no handshakes on the presidential debate stage, according to ABC News. However, there are no rules in place that require the candidates to shake hands before or after the debate.Twenty-three years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001, two planes, led by terrorists, crashed into New York’s Twin Towers, resulting in them collapsing, killing and injuring thousands of people. During the ceremony, a widow who lost her husband on that frightful day criticized Biden for telling reporters that he would be “doing 9/11” when he mentioned his plans to attend the memorial. The woman referred to it as “quite a flippant remark.”
The President released a statement touching on the bravery and heart of Americans who survived the traumatic event. “On this day 23 years ago, terrorists believed they could break our will and bring us to our knees. They were wrong. They will always be wrong,” Biden said.
“In the darkest of hours, we found light. And in the face of fear, we came together — to defend our country and to help one another. Today, our longest war is finally over. But our commitment to preventing another attack on our people never will be.”
Harris, Biden, and Trump will also be traveling to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the sight of Flight 93, which was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on the same morning of the 9/11 attacks. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement saying the Biden-Harris duo would attend all ceremonies because “they want to honor the 2,977 lives that were lost on that tragic day and support the families and also their loved ones who are still, still feeling a horrible pain.”
Biden and Trump also reunited after last visiting the sites in 2020. In 2021, for the event’s 20th anniversary, the former President skipped out on appearances but made stops at a police station and a firehouse. He celebrated the anniversary via video in 2023 saying, “no one who lived through the horror of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks can ever forget the agony and the anguish of that terrible day.”
“It was a terrible day. We will never forget,” he said.