President Donald Trump sent a message of support and criticism to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“For the great people of our country this is a very sad day,” Trump said at the start of the minute-and-half long video shared online. “September 11 represents great sorrow for our country.”
“Many things were displayed that day, including most importantly the bravery of our police, fire and first responders of every kind, the job they did was truly unbelievable” said Trump, who chose not to attend the ceremony at Ground Zero marking the anniversary but will visit the site later Saturday. “We love them and we thank them.”
Much of Trump’s message was criticism of President Biden and the withdrawal from Afghanistan last month.
“It is also a sad time for the way our war on those that did such harm to our country ended last week, the loss of 13 great warriors and the many more who were wounded, should never have happened,” Trump said in the video. “It was caused by bad planning, incredible weakness and leaders who truly didn’t understand what was happening. This is the 20th year of this war, and should have been a year of victory and honor, and strength.”
Follow our 9/11 20th Anniversary coverage here:
- Firefighters honor legacy of their FDNY parents killed on 9/11
- 9/11 widow describes ‘life after the nightmare’
- How 9/11 hero flight attendant Betty Ong identified her plane’s hijackers
- Sisters in NY’s Finest recall losing their NYPD father on 9/11
Instead, Trump said, Biden “surrendered in defeat.”