President Joe Biden faced criticism Monday for spending the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 in Alaska while his administration applauded Saudi Arabia and cut a deal to send Iran billions of dollars.
The 22nd anniversary began with a tweet from National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson which explained that the Biden administration welcomes Saudi Arabia’s investment in the Partnership for Global Infrastructure, an initiative meant to help developing countries build economic corridors. The Biden administration then approved deal unfreezing $6 billion for Iran, as well as releasing five Iranian prisoners, in exchange for the release of five American prisoners from the Islamic regime. (RELATED: ‘Tragedy Struck’: GOP Presidential Candidates Commemorate 9/11 On 22nd Anniversary)
The president capped off the day by claiming he visited Ground Zero the day after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The White House was unable to provide any evidence that was true, while there is a record of Biden spending the day in Washington, D.C. instead.
Ahead of the Sept. 11, 2001 anniversary, the president was spotted at the G20 summit in India shaking hands with Saudi Arabian leader Mohammed bin Salman, after pledging on the campaign trail to make the country “the pariahs that they are.” Saudi Arabia has been accused of helping plan and carry out the 9/11 attacks, part of which has been confirmed through declassified information, ProPublica reported.
“You work for the National ‘Security’ Council and you’re heaping praise on Saudi Arabia on 9/11?!” Curtis Houck, managing editor of Media Busters, tweeted in reply to Watson.
Meanwhile, others took aim at the administration agreeing to a prisoner swap with the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, Iran.
“President Biden is going through with his $6 BILLION payout to the IRGC and its proxies,” Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst tweeted on Monday. “This will only greenlight Iran’s illicit actions and encourage further hostage ‘diplomacy.'”
Returning from the G20 in India, Biden stopped in Alaska to commemorate the anniversary at Joint Base Elmendorf-International Airport by delivering remarks to service members, first responders and their families. The president broke the decades-long tradition of visiting the Washington, D.C., area or the New York City or Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites in honor of the victims of the tragedy.
BIDEN: “Never Forget! – Ground Zero in New York. I remember standing there the next day – Felt like I was looking through the gates of hell.” pic.twitter.com/YBAmEodZSp
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 11, 2023
During his remarks in Alaska, the president claimed that he was at Ground Zero the day following the 9/11 attacks. When asked by the Daily Caller if the president was in New York City on Sept. 12, 2001, and for evidence of such, the White House pointed to two articles and a photo showing Biden visited the wreckage of the Twin Towers on Sept. 20, 2001.
“Senator Biden was ‘in the delegation of Senators that traveled by train to New York to view the rubble left by the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers,’” the White House told the Daily Caller, citing the Associated Press.
The White House sent the Daily Caller an additional article from CNN that showed that nearly 40 Senators visited the wreckage in New York City on Sept. 20, 2001, though they did not directly address whether the president was at the site on Sept. 12, 2001.
He also used the speech to take an apparent veiled shot at Republicans, saying the United States is facing a “rising tide of hatred, extremism and political violence” and that citizens must reject partisanship.
Former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called it “deeply offensive” that the president “chose to turn his back” on Americans and did not make it to a more traditional memorial site for the anniversary of 9/11. Former Vice President Mike Pence said he was “very disappointed” in Biden for failing to be at Ground Zero or Pentagon on Monday, according to ABC News.
“Now is the time for new leadership,” Gabbard told Fox News host Jesse Watters.