New York/Washington (Web Desk/Agencies): New York marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Friday as thousands gathered to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed in the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil. The commemorations, however, were overshadowed by controversy surrounding President Donald Trump’s decision to skip the New York ceremony and criticism from the political right over the participation of the city’s first Muslim mayor.
Instead of attending the main anniversary gathering in New York, Trump travelled to the Pentagon to pay tribute to those killed there. In Manhattan, where hijacked aircraft struck the World Trade Centre and claimed the lives of most of the 2,977 victims, the memorial ceremony proceeded without him.
Vice President JD Vance joined Trump’s four living predecessors at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. Republican George W. Bush, who was president when the attacks occurred, attended alongside Democratic former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
The solemn ceremony began shortly after 8:40am local time, or 5:40pm in Pakistan, and was deliberately kept free of political speeches. Relatives of those who died took turns reading the names of the victims, while bells sounded at key points corresponding to the sequence of the attacks.
The September 11 attacks not only transformed American foreign policy but also led to years of US military involvement in the Middle East and generated continuing criticism over Washington’s treatment of human rights.
Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani also attended the ceremony alongside the former presidents, despite a campaign led by conservative figures calling for his exclusion from the event. The effort was backed by the right-wing New York Post as well as former New York mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani.
A petition opposing Mamdani’s presence had collected more than 100,000 signatures. It alleged that the mayor had links to unnamed individuals who were “dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies”.
“It’s concerning to me that the mayor is being treated differently simply because he is Muslim,” city council member Shahana Hanif told CNN.
Mamdani has recently received praise after making public thousands of records detailing what New York authorities knew about hazardous air conditions in Lower Manhattan after the attacks.
Following the collapse of the World Trade Centre, an enormous cloud of debris engulfed the surrounding area. Toxic pollutants and dust continued to affect Lower Manhattan for months, with exposure linked to cancers and other illnesses that continue to impact thousands of New Yorkers.
On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda members seized control of four passenger planes during a clear autumn morning. Two aircraft were deliberately flown into the World Trade Centre’s Twin Towers, ultimately bringing down the landmark 110-storey structures.
Another hijacked aircraft crashed into the Pentagon, while the fourth plane went down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Investigators believe it was heading towards either the US Capitol or the White House before passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.
The death toll associated with September 11 extends far beyond those killed on the day itself. More than 9,400 people have since died from illnesses linked to the attacks, according to the federal programme created to provide healthcare and support to affected victims and responders.
For millions of Americans, the attacks are now part of history rather than a memory they personally experienced, with around 100 million people born after the attacks or too young at the time to remember what happened.
Large numbers of visitors were expected to descend on Lower Manhattan for the anniversary observances. Authorities implemented extensive security measures around the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, including a protective perimeter established by the Secret Service.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said specialist teams equipped to counter drones would also be deployed as a precaution. She emphasised, however, that authorities had not received intelligence indicating any particular or imminent threat.