The annual observance of 911 in New York City is a solemn event. As it should be. There is an established way the date and the victims are remembered. Politicians, including and especially Presidents are welcome to attend. However the event shouldn’t be political so even Presidents aren’t allowed to give remarks. Trump wanted to do so this year and was told no. So he’s refusing to show up!
You’d think that since it’s the 25th anniversary of that awful day, and because the greatest loss of life was in NYC Trump would make a point of waddling his fat butt to the annual ceremony held at the stately memorial. Like other Presidents before him. It’s not like he wouldn’t get plenty of time on camera. He could also shout off his fat mouth AFTER the ceremony is included after departing the actual memorial. However, according to reporting from The Daily Beast Trump decided he wanted to be part of the ceremony and asked to be included via his advance team. (FYI whenever a President goes somewhere an advance team is deployed) Apparently when they told him the event organizers said he couldn’t speak he decided to bail:
Trump, 80, had his team perform advance site visits to Manhattan’s National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the memorial space where the Twin Towers once stood, two people with knowledge of the events told The New York Times.
However, since 2012, politicians have not been allowed to deliver speeches at anniversary events at the site known as Ground Zero, with the museum explaining that the rule was intended to ensure that attendees could focus on “honoring the victims and their families in a way free of politics.”
We all know Trump wanted to grab attention on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Hell, he wanted to be the center of attention at the literal center of attention every time 9/11 comes up on the calendar. The Pentagon (don’t get me started on that) and Shanksville get a brief mention but the focus is always on Ground Zero because as I said that’s by far where the greatest loss of life happened. Trump at the time and since has made wild and disproven claims about that day, including that he’d warned about it. It’s all too easy to imagine if allowed to speak at the ceremony he’d not only make it all about himself, but that if HE ‘had been listened to’ way back when the whole tragedy would have been averted!
Weeks after launching his war with Iran, Trump said in March he had “predicted” that “Osama Bin Laden would knock out the World Trade Center,” a year before the attacks.
“I said, ‘You better get him. He’s a bad guy.’ I watched him be interviewed one time, and I said, ‘That’s a bad guy. You’d better get him. One year before exactly. I wrote it in a book,” Trump insisted. “You can even check, about a year before the World Trade Center came down.”
During his first term in office, Trump had made the same claim about having warned about the threat posed by the al Qaeda founder.
Fact checking as I said has proven Trump lies when he says this kind of crap. In fact CNN combed through his book The America We Deserve which is probably the seed of Trump’s bullshit claims and found he mentioned Bin Laden exactly once. And didn’t warn about some potential attack, much less call for him to be killed. At least everyone will be spared Trump’s making even grander claims this year. You know damn well he’d already ordered a section of his remarks detailing how prescient he was and talking about the ‘what if’ had he (a blowhard NYC real estate guy turned TV ‘star’) had been listened to.
Fortunately those in charge of the 9/11 Memorial and the annual event marking it wisely chose back in 2012 to adopt a policy of politicians attending only be seen. NOT heard as noted above. We are lucky they had such foresight. If not Trump then someday a President would come along and ‘ad lib’ a bit and make some kind of gaffe. But even Presidents don’t get the microphone and you have to think organizers were relieved to be able to point to the established policy and established tradition when politely telling Trump’s minions not even he, the “Great and Powerful Trump’ would get special treatment:
So the ceremony will include six moments of silence – to mark when both World Trade Center towers were struck, as well as the times the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Also family members will read the name of the loved ones they lost. In other words it will be a memorial to remember the tragedy and the victims instead of a political photo op:
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum did not address Trump’s plans in a statement, but told the New York Post the president is “always welcome” to attend the ceremony.
“For more than a decade, the ceremony at Ground Zero has featured only family members solemnly reading the names of their loved ones. Elected officials of both parties have borne witness to this solemn occasion over the years, and we have been honored that every living President, including President Trump, has attended. Of course, President Trump is always welcome,” the statement read.
So Trumpty-Dumpty decided in a huff to mostly blow off 9/11. Oh, it’s said he will visit the Pentagon and crap all over the annual event held there. It makes me sick to think of him, and of course Hegseth speaking and talking their trash. On a personal note I once stood duty in the Pentagon (at the Naval Command Center which was on the top deck of the wing that was hit) and prior to that wing having been rebuilt would have died there had a plane hit where it did. Years later when the attack happened I was working as the Cemetery Manager for the Town of Herndon, Virginia and buried two of the victims in my cemetery. I got to know both widows well and shudder at them having to sit through Trump and Hegseth bloviating.
By the way when I say ‘blowing off 9/11’ I’m not exaggerating. That GOP Midterm Convention to be held in Texas? It’s on Sept. 9 and 10 and Trump will no doubt be there. And after ruining the observance of Pentagon victims he’s headed to Ireland because a golf tournament (the Irish Open) will be held at his course in Doonburg. The Irish don’t like Trump and one can hope there’s lots of signs talking about “Doonesbury” Golf Course. Trump would be too stupid to get the reference but plenty of others would.
I can’t help but wish that across the road in Arlington National Cemetery a group would be ready with a HUGE banner to unroll and hoist up on poles where Trump could see it. It would say “TRUMP AND HEGSETH ARE THE REAL SUCKERS AND LOSERS!”
