Joe Biden is not visiting New York City to commemorate 9/11, and the White House’s callous explanation for his absence raised eyebrows.
According to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy, the White House gave a dismissive response to why Biden won’t be present at Ground Zero.
“The analogy that I was given,” Doocy reported Monday, “is that 22 years after Pearl Harbor, U.S. Presidents were not still going to visit Hawaii.”
.@pdoocy asked the White House why POTUS is not in NYC on 9/11.
DOOCY: “The analogy that I was given is that 22 years after Pearl Harbor, U.S. Presidents were not still going to visit Hawaii.”
Wow… pic.twitter.com/KcfD7lf3sz
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 11, 2023
Yikes.
That response is false. Former President John F. Kennedy visited Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in 1963 to commemorate the attack.
Uh, presidents WERE still visiting Hawaii 22 years after Pearl Harbor. Here is JFK doing just that: https://t.co/01QlQNKgkz
h/t @thekytikat https://t.co/LzXOHPRkXw— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 11, 2023
The explanation is especially strange given Biden had visited NYC on 9/11 in 2021.
.@marthamaccallum: "President Biden not attending the memorials at those locations – that's the first time that a U.S. President has ever made that decision not to be at one of these three places on this day." pic.twitter.com/NSY1bh2vMV
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 11, 2023
The White House instead sent VP Kamala Harris to the 9/11 commemoration ceremony at Ground Zero on Monday.
Biden offered remarks commemorating 9/11 from a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, where he highlighted young people’s call to join the military following the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
MSNBC says the excuse why Joe Biden is not in New York, D.C., or Pennsylvania to commemorate 9/11, but instead giving a speech on a military base in Alaska, is to highlight those who joined the military after 9/11. pic.twitter.com/rIzDb8toqm
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 11, 2023
Meanwhile, Trump, who also did not visit Ground Zero on this occasion, released a video statement honoring the fallen on 9/11, including the first responders and volunteers who aided in rescue efforts.
President Donald J. Trump’s Statement on the Anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks pic.twitter.com/Y1QWqTS6rd
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 11, 2023
Along with Harris, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also attended the 9/11 commemoration ceremony.