Donald Trump remembers the victims of 9/11: 'That terrible morning, 24 years ago, time itself stood still'

President Donald Trump commemorated the anniversary of Sept. 11 Thursday with a solemn ceremony at the Pentagon, marking 24 years since the terrorist attacks that shocked the United States.

The president was accompanied by the first lady, Melania Trump, and Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. During the ceremony, wreaths were laid and the names of the 125 victims who died at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building were read out. In addition, the 59 people who were on the plane were remembered.

"That terrible morning 24 years ago, time itself stood still," Trump said, renewing the “sacred vow” to “never forget.”

In his speech, he also highlighted the resilience of the American people in the face of terrorism and recalled the capture of Osama bin Laden as a symbol of national resolve.

"If you attack the United States of America, we will hunt you down and we will find you," the president said.

Donald Trump also announced that he will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. This decision came just one day after Kirk was tragically assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University. 

Thousands of victims in the U.S.

On September 11, 2001, the entire world witnessed through the media how the United States suffered the largest terrorist attack in its history.

Four commercial airliners hijacked by the terrorist organization Al Qaeda -led by the hitherto almost unknown Osama bin Laden- caused the collapse of the iconic Twin Towers in New York City and the partial collapse of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed in an open field in Pennsylvania.

Grief was felt not only for the 2,977 fatalities and their families, but for all those injured and for individuals working or living in the affected areas, who were evicted and did not return to their homes until several months later.

However, 9/11 is also a symbol of survival. The World Trade Center memorial that remembers the victims synthesizes the events that occurred in the past and the U.S. capacity to overcome and move forward.

Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda is a jihadist terrorist organization founded in the late 1980s by Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden. It first functioned as a logistical support network for Muslim forces resisting the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, and by the 1990s it had become an organization recruiting members throughout the Islamic world.

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Al Qaeda had a new enemy in its sights: the United States. The reasons: the military support to Israel, the American presence in military bases in Saudi Arabia and what it considered aggressions against Muslim peoples.

The facts

The attack was perpetrated by 19 suicide bombers divided into 4 groups, who hijacked four commercial airline planes.

Departing from Boston, Washington-Dulles and Newark airports, the four hijacked planes had a common destination: California. Their tanks were therefore full of fuel. According to the black boxes of the planes, the hijackers carried box cutters, with which they killed the air hostesses and pilots.

The first two hijacked planes - from American Airlines and United Airlines - flew over New York City. The first caused terror when it hit the North Tower at 8:49 am. In that building, two companies with offices between the 93rd and 105th floors lost a thousand workers. The impact of the second plane on the South Tower occurred only 17 minutes later.

In less than two hours the South Tower collapsed, that is, the second to be hit. The North Tower remained standing, but not for long. In a matter of 30 minutes it collapsed.

The third plane -from American Airlines- modified its course to hit the Pentagon. And the fourth -from United Airlines- failed to hit the Capitol or the White House thanks to the resistance of the passengers and crew members who confronted the terrorist hijackers. It was the one that fell on a field in Pensylvania.

Casualty toll

9/11 was the terrorist attack that claimed the most victims. In the Twin Towers some 2,700 people died; in the planes, 265 people (including the 19 suicide bombers); in the Pentagon, 125 people.

Of the 750 members of the Fire Department who entered the Towers to attend to the more than 14,000 people in them, 343 died that day and about 250 were left with life-long injuries. The list of those missing still includes 24 people and those injured have been estimated at 25,000.

Reaction of the Bush Administration

A month after the attacks, with George W. Bush as president, the so-called War on Terror began with the invasion of Afghanistan, where the Taliban, accused of protecting and harboring Al Qaeda, were quickly overthrown. In 2003, Bush coordinated the war in Iraq with his allies, where the dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

In May 2011, U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in a surprise raid on his Pakistan hideout. Ten years later, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Joe Biden called for the end of the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan: a troop withdrawal that surprised the international community by the Taliban's return to power.

The WTC Health Program could disappear

The World Trade Center Health Program, designed to benefit rescue workers affected by the attack, features a budget shortfall that would prevent enrollment of new participants starting in 2028 and reduce services for current beneficiaries in 2029.

"Our pledge to 'never forget' is not just about remembering, it's about acting," Chairman General Edward Kelly said. "This is about ensuring that the thousands of firefighters and first responders who responded to the call at Ground Zero, and their families, continue to receive the care they need without question and without interruption."

It is estimated that more than 50,000 people have developed illnesses linked to 9/11.