Video: Trump vows never to forget 9/11 victims
US President Donald Trump
Abdullateef Fowewe
United States President Donald Trump has on Friday honoured the victims and families of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks during a solemn ceremony at the Pentagon, vowing that the nation would “never, ever forget” the nearly 3,000 lives lost and pledging to protect America’s freedoms for future generations.
Speaking in the Pentagon’s courtyard alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and First Lady Melania Trump, the president recalled the unity that swept the country in the harrowing days after al-Qaida militants hijacked planes and struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
“In those harrowing days after the attacks, we saw the authentic spirit of our nation.
“We were all New Yorkers that day. Every one of us. We were all New Yorkers. We were all family,” Trump said.
Trump reiterated a promise of remembrance and resolve, telling the gathering, “We will always remember the victims and the families of September 11th, 2001. We will honour their lives. We will cherish their beautiful memories. And we will protect this country and its freedoms for every future generation.”
He added, “Today we renew the sacred oath we first swore in their names a quarter-century ago. We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today. We don’t have a choice.”
The Pentagon ceremony, one of several national remembrance events on the 25th anniversary, included moments of silence, wreath-laying, and the reading of victims’ names, honoring the 184 people who died at the site on September 11, 2001.
While Vice President JD Vance and former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden joined families at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, Trump chose to mark the day at the Pentagon, where he has now commemorated the anniversary for two consecutive years.
