Democratic candidate Joe Biden and US Vice President Mike Pence at 9/11 commemorations in New York.
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Amr Alfiky / AP / SIPA
Joe Biden had warned, "it's a solemn day, and we will make sure that it remains so."
And for the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, tradition has been respected: less than two months before the November 3 presidential election, Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent have respected the traditional truce, carefully avoiding any controversy.
En route to Pennsylvania, Donald Trump first marked a minute's silence aboard Air Force One at 8:46 a.m. - the moment the First Plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
On Air Force One, President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, White House staff, and pool reporters observed a moment of silence at 8:46 am (ET), the moment when the first plane hit the World Trade Center in NYC 19 years ago.
pic.twitter.com/Vu2pupvqcy
- The Hill (@thehill) September 11, 2020
At the same time, his Democratic rival Joe Biden, who recently stepped up the tempo of his campaign after weeks cloistered in his Delaware home, was on the site of "Ground Zero" in New York, amid family close to. 3,000 victims of terrorist attacks.
After praying, he gave a friendly nod to Vice President Mike Pence.
As the loudspeakers reverberated from the long list of victims' names, pre-recorded this year due to pandemic, the 77-year-old candidate - who himself lost his first wife and daughter in a car crash, then her son Beau, who died of cancer - spoke of his notorious empathy to a nonagenarian, who lost a son in the attacks.
The pain "never goes away" he told her, hand on heart, according to images shared on social networks.
Joe Biden, doing that thing that Joe Biden does, but that we haven't seen much of during the pandemic pic.twitter.com/J9W0rnN2Bq
- Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) September 11, 2020
"One nation gathered"
Donald Trump gave a solemn speech from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the four flights hijacked by members of Al-Qaeda crashed.
"When terrorists raced to destroy the seat of our democracy, the 40 of Flight 93 did the most American of things — they took a vote, and then they acted.
Together they charged the cockpit, they confronted the pure evil, and in their last act on this earth, they saved our capital. "
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- The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2020
After September 11, "we were united in our belief that America is the most exceptional country in the world, blessed by the most incredible heroes, and that this country is worth defending to the last breath" , said the US president.
"It is the symbol of who we are as Americans, because on that day we came together, forming one nation," he added, accompanied by his wife Melania.
Battle for Pennsylvania
Joe Biden was also due in the afternoon in Shanksville.
The choice by the two candidates of Pennsylvania, where the latest polls give them shoulder to shoulder, reveals the importance of this state.
Long democrat, Pennsylvania, home state of Joe Biden, had switched to a narrow majority for Donald Trump in 2016, contributing to the surprise victory of the New York mogul over Hillary Clinton.
Democrats hope to take their revenge on November 3.
The anniversary of September 11 in 2016 was also the occasion of a controversy, after the fact.
Hillary Clinton had made a slight discomfort at the New York ceremony and had slipped away before the end.
Her doctor had revealed that she had been diagnosed two days earlier with pneumonia, which the former secretary of state had ignored.
Donald Trump had exploited this episode extensively, mocking his rival and even imitating her in public tripping.
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Joe biden
United States
September 11th
Donald trump
US presidential election