President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump paid their respects to those lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, at a remembrance ceremony in Manhattan held on the event’s 23rd anniversary.
Biden and Trump shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump. Just hours earlier, Harris and Trump participated in their first presidential debate, during which the two candidates also shook hands. Turning to face the crowds, Harris was flanked by Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Next to Biden stood Bloomberg, and on the other side of the former mayor stood Trump and his 2024 running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
Sept. 11—the date when al-Qaeda hijackers seized control of four commercial airliners and killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001—falls in the thick of the presidential election season every four years. Despite the campaign calendars, organizers of anniversary ceremonies have tried to keep the focus on the victims of the attacks. For years, politicians have attended the ground zero observances primarily as observers, while the relatives of the victims have had the chance to speak about their loved ones.