By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a quarter century after a day “etched forever into the memories of Americans,” President Donald Trump honored the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Tuesday by vowing to “never forget.”
The event at the Ellipse was spearheaded by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and showcased a massive, 21-foot, nearly 17,000-pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, which had traveled for months across the country as part of the Steel Across America tour.
The steel beam will make its way through New York in a procession on Friday by retracing the steps of fallen New York City firefighter Stephen Siller. Trump’s presence at the event on Tuesday just outside the White House began a week of commemorations that will culminate in several events on Friday, including one at the Pentagon that Trump will attend.
“This battered piece of steel here today on the Ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer and no terror can destroy,” Trump said.
Trump noted that the Sept. 11 attacks were one of few moments in history that “divide time into really what came before” and after.
His remarks briefly dipped into the political, as Trump warned of people turning a “communistic way” — a reference to his frequent attacks on Democrats as more democratic socialists gain influence in the party.
During his remarks, Trump paid particular tribute to two men who died in the attacks: Jeffrey Palazzo, a New York City firefighter, and Welles Crowther, a young equities trader who became known as the “man in the red bandanna” after rescuing several people in the attacks.
Trump said the U.S. Coast Guard will commission a new fast-response cutter this weekend in New York in honor of Palazzo, a Coast Guard reservist who was working out of Staten Island’s Rescue Squad 5 when he responded to the attacks 25 years ago.
And the president recognized Crowther, also a volunteer firefighter, by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Crowther’s mother, Alison, and sister, Paige, accepted the award, which is considered the nation’s highest civilian honor.
During his remarks, Trump also recalled being near the site after the attacks and hearing the structure then known as the U.S. Steel Building “creaking.”
“I was building a big building in New York and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened,” he said. “We thought it was coming down on top of us. And two firemen — big, strong guys, and I’m not the smallest guy in the world — they grabbed me under the arms.”
“They lifted me up and they started running with me,” he added. “I said, ‘Fellas, I could run myself,’ but they were amazing.” It wasn’t clear from Trump’s comments precisely when the event he described occurred.
In attendance were a smattering of top Cabinet officials and members of Congress, including Republican Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Dan Meuser, whose Pennsylvania district is near Shanksville, where Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
Trump praised at length Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial firm that had been housed at the World Trade Center. Lutnick lost his younger brother, Gary, as well as more than 650 employees in the attacks.
“He’s done an amazing job,” Trump said of Lutnick. “He’s rebuilt Cantor Fitzgerald, and he’s given much of the profits to some of the families or the families of people who perished.”
About 150 first responders from New York, as well as some from Washington and Pennsylvania, were in attendance, Trump said.
“This steel beam represents the best of our country,” said Frank Siller, the foundation’s chairman and CEO who is the brother of Stephen Siller. “It’s important to recognize that the heroism that was exhibited that fateful day was nothing short of incredible.”
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Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.