Critics are slamming President Joe Biden for treating the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an “afterthought,” as Biden will be spending the day in Alaska — becoming the first president not to visit one of the crash sites for the 9/11 remembrance ceremony.
The White House announced that Biden not be attending any of the 9/11 sites on September 11th.
This is the first time that a sitting President will skip the observances in New York City, Pennsylvania, or Virginia. pic.twitter.com/HEd2XcJWZZ
— Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) August 29, 2023
Biden will reportedly be spending the day with military members, first responders and their families at a commemoration ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Those in attendance will include units from the Air Force, Army, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserves and others.
While the president will be breaking with tradition, First Lady Jill Biden will still appear to place a wreath at the Pentagon Memorial to honor the victims — while Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are scheduled to attend a commemoration ceremony in New York City at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
Critics have condemned Biden’s decision not to show up to a memorial site to mark the anniversary of the attacks, arguing that his decision to hold a ceremony in Alaska appears to be an “afterthought” as he will be rushing back from the G-20 Summit in India and a visit to Vietnam to discuss climate change on September 10. Many have argued that the president should have rescheduled these events because of the anniversary of 9/11, rather than trying to fit the anniversary into his schedule.
On the Thursday broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered,” the panel’s co-hosts slammed Biden for not changing his schedule.
“To me, 9/11 is something that you plan your presidential schedule all around… So, the fact that he chose, or his advisers chose to plan a trip to Vietnam to discuss climate change… It reads as an afterthought, it reads as a dismissal,” co-host Emily Compagno argued.
“The first lady at Arlington National Cemetery, and the vice president will be here at the World Trade Center — to me, that is not the same thing as my Commander-in-Chief honoring those lives that were lost, and the lives that were lost in the disastrous Afghan withdrawal,” she added, calling Biden’s decision a “slap in the face.”
Author Ian Prior, a guest on the panel, agreed with Compagno’s argument.
“The fact that he’s going to be in Alaska, the fact that he agreed to this climate change seminar — I mean, you’re the president of the United States of America, reschedule it. If you want us there, you’ll reschedule it, because it’s September 11th. I’m either going to be at the World Trade Center or I’m going to be at the Pentagon — that’s where I’m going to be,” he said.
