President Trump will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Pentagon rather than at Ground Zero, a source familiar with the plans said.
Trump, 79, is not expected to attend the annual Manhattan memorial service at the site where the World Trade Center towers fell, according to the source. The president had been anticipated at the Ground Zero ceremony as recently as Aug. 14, though the reason for the change remains unclear.
The anniversary falls on Sept. 11, the day after the Republican Party’s two-day midterm convention in Dallas concludes. Trump plans to attend that event. He is also scheduled to travel to Ireland on Sept. 12 and 13, where he will meet with U.S. Embassy workers and business leaders before attending the Irish Open golf tournament at his course in Doonbeg.
Reports said that ceremony organizers’ refusal to let Trump deliver remarks contributed to his decision to skip Manhattan. Since 2012, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum has barred politicians from giving speeches at Ground Zero.
Vice President JD Vance, 41, is expected to attend the New York City ceremony instead, according to the Times. The ceremony will feature six moments of silence marking key times of the attacks: when both towers were struck and fell, the Pentagon attack, and the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Family members will read the names of the 2,977 people killed.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum issued a statement that did not directly address Trump’s plans but emphasized the ceremony’s traditions.
“For more than a decade, the ceremony at Ground Zero has featured only family members solemnly reading the names of their loved ones,” the statement read. “Elected officials of both parties have borne witness to this solemn occasion over the years, and we have been honored that every living President, including President Trump, has attended.”
The statement continued: “Of course, President Trump is always welcome.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president’s schedule.
Trump’s absence from Ground Zero breaks with his own attendance record. He previously joined other living presidents at the Manhattan ceremony, a tradition the Memorial noted in its statement welcoming him back.
The Pentagon commemoration will mark the site where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building’s west wall at 9:37 a.m. On Sept. 11, 2001, killing 184 people. The attack came less than an hour after the first plane hit the North Tower in New York and 34 minutes after the second struck the South Tower.
In the viral moment that defined the political tensions around this anniversary, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has faced calls from some 9/11 family members to be excluded from the Ground Zero ceremony. Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa pushed back on those demands Thursday, telling relatives who wanted Mamdani kept away to “stop being sore losers” and arguing they should respect the office even if they disagree with the mayor.
The scheduling conflict highlights the delicate balance between political presence and solemn remembrance that has shaped 9/11 commemorations for more than a decade. The Memorial’s ban on politician speeches, enacted in 2012, has sought to keep the focus on victims’ families rather than elected officials.
Trump’s Pentagon appearance will come one day after he concludes his participation in the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
