President Joe Biden is breaking the decades-long tradition of honoring victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the Washington, D.C., area or at the New York City or Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites instead choosing to spend the 22nd anniversary in Alaska.
Returning from his G20 trip to India, Biden plans to stop in Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday at Joint Base Elmendorf-International Airport to deliver remarks to service members, first responders and their families on the anniversary of Sept. 11. Prior to Biden, former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump commemorated the anniversary at a more traditional location, such as the site of one of the attacks; Fort George G. Meade, home to the National Security Agency, in Maryland; Walter Reed Army Hospital or with a prayer service on the South Lawn. (RELATED: ‘Tragedy Struck’: GOP Presidential Candidates Commemorate 9/11 On 22nd Anniversary)
Throughout his four years as president, Trump attended memorial services at either the Pentagon or the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. While in the White House, Obama once commemorated the anniversary by visiting Fort George G. Meade in Maryland to talk with service members.
(L-R) Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, US Vice President Kamala Harris, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) attend a remembrance ceremony on the 22nd anniversary of the terror attack on the World Trade Center, in New York City on September 11, 2023. (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Bush observed a moment of silence on the memorial on the White House South Lawn and once visited with wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital to commemorate the anniversary during his presidency.
Vice President Kamala Harris commemorated the anniversary on Sunday at the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City while First Lady Jill Biden visited the National Sept. 11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff plans to visit Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to honor the victims of the United Airlines Flight 93 crash.