Marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Donald Trump delivered an address at the Pentagon on Friday, September 11, 2026. Trump linked the historic counterterrorism milestone to ongoing conflicts, while Vice President JD Vance represented the administration in New York City.
Twenty-five years after a series of coordinated hijackings reshaped the United States, national commemorations on Friday brought together officials, survivors, and families to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed in New York City, Arlington, Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. President Donald Trump addressed a gathered audience at the Pentagon, situated hundreds of miles from Lower Manhattan at the site where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, killing 184 people.
The Pentagon Address and the 25-Year Retrospective
Speaking from a teleprompter, Trump reflected on the morning of September 11, 2001, when 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger aircraft in a coordinated attack against the United States. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Centre’s Twin Towers in New York, while a third struck the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, in Arlington, Virginia. Recounting the human toll, the president detailed the stories of victims, including three 11-year-olds on board Flight 77 which was meant to head to Los Angeles, on a cross country field-trip,
a family on an international adventure, and a flight attendant who had just found out she was pregnant. At the Pentagon, Trump said, was a U.S. Navy airman who had just hung up after a call with his 10-year-old son, while a secretary was celebrating her birthday.
Donald Trump, U.S. President
Trump renewed what the administration described as a sacred oath, asserting that the nation would never, ever forget the sacrifices made by ordinary citizens and first responders. Speaking at the Pentagon on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Trump said, Today, we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago: We will never, ever forget.
The president also connected the ongoing fight against international extremism directly to current military engagements, declaring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never, ever have a nuclear weapon.
Ceremonies Across the Nation and Administration Representation
While Trump spoke at the Pentagon, Vice President JD Vance represented the administration at the Ground Zero ceremony in New York City, while other officials attended the observance in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Community observances also unfolded in smaller municipalities, including Rockville, Maryland, where multiple events were held to mark the exact moments of the attacks, with floral tributes laid and bells tolled in remembrance. Council member Marissa Valeri shared her experience working on Capitol Hill on September 11, recalling how she found out that a family friend was on the plane that hit the Pentagon. Another District Council member also spoke at the remembrance event, recalling clerking on what is now the Maryland Supreme Court and having to continually run messages to then-Chief Judge Robert Bell to let him know what was happening outside the courtroom because the court was in session.
Symbolism of the Pentagon Flag and Location Decisions
A prominent visual element of Friday’s Pentagon ceremony was the display of a United States flag, which was unfurled at the Pentagon on September 12, 2001. Trump noted that General James Jackson ordered up the largest flag in the military’s collection, and they think in the military’s history. For the milestone anniversary, that same flag was present to the president’s right, along with three firefighters who raised it.
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum has barred elected officials from speaking at its site, which explains why President Donald Trump delivered his speech to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York City, hundreds of miles away from Lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon Friday.
