Every September 11 is a difficult day for Jennifer Nilsen. In 2001, she lost her husband Troy, who worked as an engineer at the World Trade Center in New York. The following year, she stayed in bed, unable to do anything else. But since then, she has never missed the ceremony at Ground Zero, the site where the Twin Towers once stood, in tribute to her husband and the other 2,976 people who died in the Islamist attacks that this Friday mark 25 years. “It’s very painful, but I can’t be anywhere else. I come to keep his memory alive,” she says, unable to hold back tears as she holds a photograph of a smiling Troy with a large freshly caught fish.
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Among those attending Friday’s ceremony were Vice President J. D. Vance, as well as all the living former presidents: Republican George W. Bush, who led the United States during the worst attacks in its history, and Democrats Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Their presence made the most obvious absence even more glaring: that of President Donald Trump. This is the first time in this quarter-century that the occupant of the White House has not come to New York for the tribute event.
The Republican magnate preferred to participate this very Friday in an event at the Pentagon where he would be allowed to speak. Because, for one day, politicians here do not come to talk. It is prohibited by the organization. Their task is to listen as the victims’ families read the 2,983 names of the deceased (the 2,977 from 9/11 and the six who died in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing).
The reading of the names is interrupted by solemn moments of silence. Until last year, there were six, one for each key moment of the 9/11 attacks: two when the planes hit each of the towers, two when each of them collapsed, one for the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, causing 184 deaths, and another for the only plane with which the Al Qaeda terrorists failed in their objective of crashing it into a symbolic building of U.S. power. In that case, it fell on land in Pennsylvania, with 40 fatalities. This year there is an innovation. One more minute of silence has been added: in tribute to the victims who died after 9/11 as a result of injuries and illnesses related to the attack.
Michael Bellantoni, a retired firefighter, was also here 25 years ago. The night before September 11, 2001, he had worked a shift and was sleeping at his Staten Island home when the first plane crashed into the North Tower. His wife woke him to say there had been an accident in Manhattan. But he did not believe that version. “From the first moment I knew we were at war,” he recalls near the monument a few minutes before the ceremony.
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Of this day, the only thing she wishes is that it passes quickly: “It’s very depressing to remember that almost 3,000 people died here.” She identifies as a convinced Trump supporter and states that the Republican is “the best president in history; he really cares about the United States.” Better than Abraham Lincoln? “Well, let’s say the best since I’ve been alive.” However, she admits she doesn’t like that he didn’t come. “He should have been here representing the country. But well, I don’t think it’s that serious. He likes to talk. And today at the Pentagon he will be able to talk,” she says as she says goodbye.
The names of the victims, one by one
Emotion overflowed this Friday in New York. Because of the presence of hundreds of people who were pronouncing the names of their loved ones who are no longer here, with some unexpected interventions from some family members who asked their government to stop doing business with Saudi Arabia or others who thanked Vice President Vance for his presence. The impressive monument to the victims at Ground Zero, with its two large underground pools and the names of all the dead engraved, helps to elevate the symbolism of the ceremony.
Besides Trump’s absence, this year’s event had another controversy related to Mayor Zohran Mamdani. For the first time in its history, New York is governed by a Muslim. And he was tasked with organizing the events for the 25th anniversary of the great still-open wound that is 9/11. Several victims’ families asked Mamdani not to attend the event. They reproach him that his rhetoric and some of his allies are contrary to the shared values of the commemoration, which are “respect for the victims, recognition of the severity of the attacks, and a clear rejection of the ideologies that contributed to such violence.” The online initiative has gathered around 100,000 signatures.
This Sunday the controversy intensified with the intervention of Rudolph Giuliani, the Republican who governed New York during 9/11 and who at that time received much praise for his ability to unite the city on what was possibly the hardest day in its history. Giuliani, who has served as Trump’s lawyer and is a close ally, said he was offended by Mamdani’s presence at the event, even comparing him to the 9/11 hijackers. The Democratic mayor has not responded to these criticisms and, finally, this Friday both were seen shaking hands. He participated this Friday like the rest of the guests: keeping a respectful silence for those who lost what they loved most 25 years ago.
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