‘America is blessed with a strength’: Trump commemorates victims of 9/11 ahead of quarter-century anniversary

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, President Donald Trump commemorated the victims at an event outside the White House. The highlight of the ceremony was a 21-foot steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center's South Tower, which traveled across the country as part of the Steel Across America tour. Trump vowed to "never forget" the events of that fateful day and praised America's strength in the face of terrorism.

He honored two victims who perished in the attacks: firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo and equities trader Welles Crowther, who was known as the "man in the red bandanna" for rescuing several people. Trump awarded Crowther the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and his mother and sister accepted the honor on his behalf. The president recalled a harrowing experience after the attacks, where he was saved by two firefighters who lifted him from danger.

He praised Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a survivor of the attacks, for rebuilding Cantor Fitzgerald and donating profits to affected families. First responders from New York and Pennsylvania attended the event, with Frank Siller, Stephen Siller's brother, praising the steel beam as a symbol of American heroism.