President Joe Biden will break with tradition next month and mark the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by attending a memorial ceremony in Alaska rather than at one of the customary NYC, Virginia or Pennsylvania events.
Biden’s plans for Sept. 11 next month represent the first time since the terrorist attacks a president has opted against observing the occasion at either the White House or any of the three attack sites in New York City, northern Virginia and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The president has marked the anniversary of Sept. 11 in different locations in each of his three years in office so far. He traveled to all three sites in 2021 for the 20th anniversary and attended a Pentagon ceremony in 2022.
Biden will be on a stopover in Alaska for the Sept. 11 observance at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on his way back to Washington after a trip to Asia.
President Joe Biden (C) calls out as he is joined by (L-R) former President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, First Lady Jill Biden and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, during the 2021 annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Biden is scheduled to travel to India from Sept. 7-10 to attend a summit with other world leaders, followed by a stop in Vietnam.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, will participate in the annual observance at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in lower Manhattan.
First lady Jill Biden will lay a wreath at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon.
He drew criticism in 2021 when he did not address the nation to mark the 20th anniversary of the event, as Breitbart News reported.
In a stunning decision, President Joe Biden will not address the nation on September 11th to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. https://t.co/B2Iv6FTCqE
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 11, 2021
Former President Barack Obama participated in a moment of silence on the White House lawn before traveling to Maryland’s Fort Meade in 2015, AP reported.
In 2005, former President George W. Bush similarly participated in a ceremony on the White House lawn.
Former President Donald Trump delivered remarks at the Pentagon memorial to mark 9/11 in 2017 and 2019.
In 2018 and 2020, Trump spoke at the Flight 93 memorial.
