On the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Republican presidential candidates are taking the opportunity to criticize President Biden about the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and his decision to skip commemorations at the site of the attacks. criticized.
Biden will visit India for the Group of 20 summit and stop in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday before spending time in Alaska on Monday, and the White House announced that Biden will attend a 9/11 memorial ceremony with military personnel. . Vice President Kamala Harris will attend a ceremony in New York City on Monday, and First Lady Jill Biden is expected to lay a wreath at the Pentagon memorial.
But the memorial plan has drawn criticism from some Republican presidential candidates, who say Biden should stand at one of the sites of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“The president should absolutely be there,” former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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Nikki Haley and Mike Pence spoke to FOX News Digital on the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (Getty)
Haley said the memorial is important not only for the victims and their families, but also as a sign of national unity.
“We must always remember the lives that were lost. And we must always remember the unification that has taken place in our country since then… Look, we are as strong and resilient as ever.” It’s a great message to say that we have been, and we need to continue to be strong and resilient. ”
Haley said America must never forget the lessons of 9/11: America’s enemies can harm our homeland and the nation must remain vigilant.
“We can’t be so arrogant that we think things can’t happen on our soil,” Haley said. “That’s why this war with Russia and Ukraine is important. It’s to make sure we stop the war there. That’s why we can’t tolerate Chinese infiltration. And that’s why the Chinese… There’s also the fact that no one is doing anything about the fact that they’re killing Americans one by one, buying up our farmland, stealing our intellectual property, and preparing for war with us. No one underestimates the threat they pose when they say ‘Death to America’ and they mean it.”
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Fellow 2024 presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence, who will visit Iowa on Monday, said Biden will honor the sacrifices of all those who served in the military in the war after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He said he hopes to do so.
“I urge President Biden, like every president, to honor the memory of the heroes made that day and all the heroes made every day after September 11th,” Pence said. Ta. But he also criticized Biden for his deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, when the U.S.-backed government collapsed and the Taliban retook the capital, Kabul.
After years of fighting terrorism, the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Norouzi)
“The tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan is a recognition of the service of all Americans in uniform who have protected our freedoms and played a role over the past 20 years in preventing another major terrorist attack on American soil,” Pence said. and dishonored the sacrifice.” “And on this September 11th, I think we need to reflect on our gratitude to all those who have served, especially those who have given their final full dedication.
Like Haley, Pence spoke about the importance of America’s military power in confronting global threats.
“We must remember that peace comes through strength, and today Joe Biden’s weak and reckless foreign policy, disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, is putting our country in harm’s way and even putting us at risk for ourselves. New leadership in the White House and Republican leadership is always needed to build a military fit for our times, to work with our allies, and to attack our enemies. “That’s what I will stand for, and that’s what I promise if I’m president of the United States, that’s all I’ll do,” he said.
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Biden is the first president to commemorate the events of September 11 in Alaska, but he is not the first to commemorate the event away from the three locations where the original attacks occurred. In 2005, then-President George W. Bush commemorated the fourth anniversary of the attack from the White House lawn. In 2015, then-President Obama commemorated the day by observing a moment of silence on the White House lawn and visiting Fort Meade, Maryland.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who ranks second to former President Trump in most early Republican primaries, is scheduled to travel to New York City on Monday to meet with seven families of September 11 victims.
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The DeSantis campaign has emphasized that the governor is the only military veteran running for president, noting that he joined the Navy to serve his country after the 2001 attack.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
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