The 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack brought together US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in a moment of civility on Wednesday barely 10 hours after they had exchanged insults during their fiery debate presidential debate.
At the commemoration at Ground Zero here, the Vice President and the former President, who are locked in a tight race for the White House, shook hands with President Joe Biden and the Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance looking on.
That was the second handshake and personal encounter, after having first met face-to-face at the debate in Philadelphia, and this time Trump smiled and gently patted Harris' hand with his left hand.
In a grim recall of the terrorist attack that had united a stunned citizenry on 9/11/2001, the four stood together as the ceremony began honouring the 2,977 victims with a pledge to never forget.
On that day, al-Qaida terrorists had driven two hijacked aircraft into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre, a symbol of America’s prowess in commerce, and another into the Pentagon, the citadel of US military might.
Relatives of the victims took turns reading the names of their loved ones in New York’s annual rite after a silver bell tolled.
Passengers on another hijacked plane resisted the terrorists and crashed the jet in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Biden and Harris traveled to the memorial there honouring the 97 passengers who died there.
Trump and Vance visited the site after the Democrats had left.
When Biden visited a fire station at Shanksville, a supporter of the former president handed him a red “Trump 2024” hat.
Sportingly, Biden took it and wore the hat of his nemesis, who had harsh words for him the previous night.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates posted on X, “At the Shanksville Fire Station, @POTUS [president of the US] spoke about the country’s bipartisan unity after 9/11 and said we needed to get back to that”.
Biden said in a message, “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. In the darkest of hours, we found light”.
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