America Marks 25 Years Since September 11 With Ceremonies at Ground Zero, Pentagon, and Shanksville
The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks today, Friday, September 11, 2026, with commemoration ceremonies at all three attack sites — the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The Ceremony at Ground Zero
The 25th anniversary commemoration at the National September 11 Memorial began at 8:30 a.m. on the Memorial plaza, according to the memorial’s own website, with the first of seven moments of silence observed at 8:46 a.m. — the moment American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower. The ceremony centers on family members reading aloud the names of the 2,983 people killed in the 2001 attacks and the earlier February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Additional moments of silence mark when each tower was struck and fell, the attack on the Pentagon, the crash of Flight 93, and a seventh moment honoring those who have died from 9/11-related illnesses in the years since.
Four former presidents — Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton — along with former New York Sen. and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are attending Friday’s Ground Zero ceremony, according to PBS News. The event has barred political speeches since 2012 to keep it nonpartisan, a policy that has held for this milestone anniversary as well.
What Trump Is Doing Instead
President Trump is not attending the New York ceremony this year, appearing instead at the Pentagon, where he is expected to deliver remarks during an observance ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. ET that includes a reading of victims’ names, according to PBS News.
According to reporting from the New York Times relayed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Trump had originally intended to commemorate the anniversary at Ground Zero but changed his plans, in part because he wanted to deliver a speech and the memorial’s organizers don’t allow remarks at their ceremony. Asked directly why he wouldn’t be marking the anniversary in his hometown, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in late August, “Because I’m going to the Pentagon.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement, according to the Inquirer: “On the 25th anniversary of this tragic day, the president will remember those who were killed at the hands of evil terrorists, honor their loved ones, and pay tribute to the brave first responders” who risked their lives that day. Vice President JD Vance is attending the New York ceremony in Trump’s place, according to NBC News, while other administration officials are attending the observance in Shanksville.
Trump last attended the Ground Zero ceremony in 2024, standing alongside Vance, then-President Biden, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — a ceremony where, consistent with the event’s longstanding policy, none of the officials present made formal remarks.
The Pentagon Memorial’s New Designation
This year’s anniversary comes with a formal recognition for the Pentagon’s own memorial site. Days before the 25th anniversary, the National Park Service announced the designation of the Pentagon Memorial as an “Affiliated Area of the National Park System,” according to PBS News — a formal recognition of the site’s national significance. The memorial, authorized by Congress in 2001 and opened in 2008, honors the 184 people who died when a hijacked plane struck the building, including everyone aboard the aircraft and 125 people inside the Pentagon itself. It features a dedicated stainless steel bench for each victim, arching over a shallow reflecting pool, located near where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building. Construction crews are expected to break ground the day after this year’s anniversary on a $35 million visitor education center at the site, according to PBS News.
Public Turnout Ahead of the Anniversary
Thousands of visitors flocked to the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in the days leading up to the 25th anniversary, according to NewsNation, with many sharing their memories of the day with younger generations who were either too young to remember the attacks or born afterward. Officials described the ongoing visits as part of an effort to pass the memory of the day forward to a generation with no direct experience of it.
Broadcast and Streaming Coverage
Television coverage of today’s anniversary spans multiple networks and formats. NewsNation is airing a one-hour documentary special, “9/11 Remembered: 25 Years Later,” at 9 p.m. ET, according to the network. Beginning at 8 p.m. ET, Disney and its affiliated networks are broadcasting “9/11 Tribute in Light: Live from Lower Manhattan” in partnership with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, featuring ABC News anchors David Muir and Robin Roberts — described by the memorial as a first-of-its-kind broadcast for the annual light tribute that projects two vertical beams into the New York sky each year from the location of the fallen towers.
Actor Gary Sinise is separately hosting a special program, “9/11: Rising Together,” focused on New York City’s resilience in the 25 years since the attacks and featuring the children of first responders who have continued their parents’ legacy of service, according to NewsNation.
Reflecting on What Followed
Beyond the ceremonies themselves, this year’s milestone anniversary has prompted broader reflection on the attacks’ lasting consequences. The September 11 attacks, which remain the deadliest in U.S. history, prompted the invasion of Afghanistan and helped usher in the broader war on terror that has shaped American foreign policy for the quarter-century since, according to Fox News’s coverage of the anniversary. Nearly 3,000 people were killed on the day itself, when al-Qaeda hijackers crashed commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while passengers aboard a fourth hijacked plane, United Flight 93, fought back before it crashed in a Pennsylvania field rather than reaching its intended target.
FAQ
Where are the official 9/11 commemoration ceremonies being held today? At all three attack sites: the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Is President Trump attending the Ground Zero ceremony? No. He is instead attending and speaking at the Pentagon observance ceremony, while Vice President JD Vance attends the New York ceremony in his place.
Why doesn’t Trump speak at the Ground Zero ceremony? The National September 11 Memorial has barred political speeches at its annual ceremony since 2012 to keep the event nonpartisan; Trump reportedly wanted to deliver remarks, which contributed to his decision to attend the Pentagon ceremony instead.
Which former presidents are attending the New York ceremony? Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, along with former New York Sen. and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
How many people were killed in the September 11 attacks? Nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001, with the New York memorial’s ceremony reading the names of 2,983 people killed in both the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Conclusion
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, today’s ceremonies reflect both the continuity of the country’s central commemoration traditions — the moments of silence, the reading of victims’ names, the nonpartisan Ground Zero ceremony — and the ways this milestone anniversary has drawn renewed attention, from a new National Park Service designation for the Pentagon Memorial to expanded broadcast coverage aimed at carrying the memory of that day forward to generations with no direct experience of it.
Sources: PBS News, NBC News, Fox News, NewsNation, The Philadelphia Inquirer/New York Times, National September 11 Memorial & Museum (reporting current as of September 11, 2026).