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Ginardi 1 Gracelyn Ginardi Aiman Mueller WRT 150-44 23 September 2023 The Absence of President Biden at 9/11 Memorials: A Controversy Unveiled The September 11, 2001, events forever altered the course of American history. It was a day marked by unspeakable tragedy that left an indelible scar on the nation's collective memory. Every year, Americans come together to commemorate the lives lost and the enduring impact of the 9/11 attacks. However, in recent news, questions about President Joe Biden's absence from 9/11 memorial events have arisen. The lack of President Joe Biden from 9/11 commemorative events, in conjunction with discrepancies in his statements and the reasons behind his nonattendance, underscores the complex interplay between presidential symbolism, national healing, and historical memory, thereby raising critical questions about the role of political leaders in commemorating traumatic national events and the enduring impact of the 9/11 attacks on American society and security measures. 9/11 is a tragic event for everyone, whether you were alive during the time or you were not. So, wouldn't you think our president would attend the 9/11 memorials? These past few weeks, it's been going around the news about how Joe Biden did not observe any 9/11 memorials. Every president in history has either participated in the memorial at the World Trade Center, went to the Pentagon, or even went to the white house. He's the first president not to attend any memorial. Joe Biden was in Alaska at an airstrip on the day of 9/11/2023. On the day of 9/11, he gave a message while using a refueling layover. Biden states, "This day is a day we'll never forget." In the speech Joe Biden gave as a senator, he mentioned visiting the World Trade

Ginardi 2 Center the day after 9/11/2001 and said it looked like he was "looking through the gates of hell". After researching, I found Biden didn't even visit the site until September 20, nine days after the tragedy (Keene and Houston et al.). Senator Biden was in Washington D.C. on the congress floor that day, where he gave a speech on 9/11. The question becomes, why is Joe Biden speaking upon false information? According to Robert Farley a news reporter from factcheck.org, he asked White House officials why the president wasn't attending a 9/11 memorial, and the analogy given was those 22 years after Pearl Harbor, U.S. presidents would not visit Hawaii. But John F. Kennedy did visit Pearl Harbor 22 years after the attack. The connection to the 22-year interval between the attack on Pearl Harbor and the presidents' travels to Hawaii was one official example used by the White House. Though not on the exact day President John F. Kennedy visited Pearl Harbor during his administration, this parallel cannot stand scrutiny. This analogy is questionable because of the striking distinctions between the two events. Namely, 9/11 was a terrorist assault, whereas Pearl Harbor signaled the outbreak of World War II (Farley, Robert et al.). There have also been theories that maybe Joe Biden wants the nation to move past this tragedy and forget about this attack. This has a significant effect on those who lost someone on 9/11 but also on America as a whole. 9/11 has increased airport security, making it a more protracted process but keeping everyone safe. DHS was also created after 9/11 along with ICE, a branch of DHS. Lastly, the USA PATRIOT Act was passed, allowing the government more spying opportunities. This was the most significant terrorist attack there has ever been in America, losing roughly 3,000 people (Keen and Houston et al.). It is unusual for a sitting president not to participate in these solemn commemorations. On the 20th anniversary of the attacks, while Americans gathered to pay their respects and reflect

Ginardi 2 on the tragic events, President Biden was notably absent from the memorial at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the White House, breaking a longstanding tradition observed by his predecessors ( Micieli-Voutsinas, Jacque et al.,) . Moreover, President Biden's initial response to the anniversary was met with skepticism. Another notion surfaced is that President Biden would want the country to forget the 9/11 disaster and turn its attention elsewhere. Even if this is conjecture, it is crucial to consider how it might impact the victims' families and the general American public, who see the yearly remembrances as a means of healing, remembering, and ensuring that an attack of this kind never happens again. Beyond politics, there is criticism regarding President Biden's decision to skip the 9/11 tributes. That day has a profound emotional and symbolic meaning for those who lost loved ones. It calls into doubt the president of the country's commitment to remembering and paying tribute to the 9/11 heroes and victims (Foote, Ken, et al.). In addition, the United States suffered a great deal because of the 9/11 events. In the wake of the incident, airport security was increased, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was made a component of DHS, and the USA PATRIOT Act, which gave the government more surveillance capabilities, was passed. President Biden's nonattendance at the monuments raises questions about the significance of these actions and the ongoing war against terrorism (Foote, Ken et al.). In conclusion, the absence of President Joe Biden from 9/11 memorial events, accompanied by discrepancies in his statements and the underlying reasons for his nonattendance, raises complex questions about the role of presidential leadership in commemorating national tragedies and the enduring impact of the 9/11 attacks on American society. The stark juxtaposition of the most significant terrorist attack ever on American soil,

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