Sept. 11 (UPI) — President Donald Trump spoke at the Pentagon Thursday giving his condolences and telling the stories of those who died in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
In his speech, Trump mentioned that the Pentagon was built 84 years ago, and “On Sept. 11, 2001, those same walls built with the sweat and muscle blood of our parents and grandparents were scarred by flame and shaken by terror as our country came face to face with pure evil on that fateful day, savage monsters attacked the very symbols of our civilization.”
“That terrible morning, 24 years ago, time itself stood still,” he went on. “The laughter of school children fell silent. The rush of our traffic came to an absolute halt, and for 2,977 innocent souls and their families, the entire world came crashing down so suddenly. … To every member that still feels a void every day of your lives, the first lady and I unite with you in sorrow and today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget Sept. 11, 2001.”
Trump also mentioned the “Department of War,” what he’s renamed the Department of Defense, though it hasn’t yet been approved by Congress.
“In the years that followed, America’s warriors, avenged the fallen and sent an unmistakable message to every enemy around the world, ‘If you attack the United States of America, we will hunt you down, and we will find you, go all over the sometimes-magnificent Earth. We will crush you without mercy, and we will triumph without question.’
“That’s why we named the former Department of Defense the Department of War. It will be different. We won the first World War. We won the Second World War. We won everything before that and in between. And then we decided to change the name. Well, now we have it back to where we all want it. Everybody wanted it. Everybody is so happy to have it back. You will fail, and America will win, win, win. The enemy will always fail.”
He then went back to telling stories of those killed in the 9/11 attacks and the families of those killed.
At the beginning of his speech, Trump mentioned the “heinous assassination” of political commentator Charlie Kirk who was shot and killed while hosting an event in Utah on Wednesday.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife Erika [Frantzve] and his beautiful children. Fantastic people, they are,” Trump said.
He then announced that he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Before Trump spoke, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — introduced as Secretary of War — spoke, mentioning that “Islamist terrorists” attacked the United States.
“War is an enduring aspect of the human condition, a tool that, when wielded wisely, punishes enemies intent on terrorizing or subjugating our nation,” he said. “War must not become a mere tool for global social work eager to risk American blood and treasure for utopian fever dreams. We should hit hard, reap vengeance and return home.”
According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, 2,977 people died during the attacks, including 2,753 in New York City, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.
The president is expected to travel to New York later Thursday to attend a Yankees game. The Yankees are expected to have a pregame ceremony to recognize the victims and heroes of 9/11.
Vice President JD Vance was scheduled to attend a ceremony in New York, but changed his schedule to head to Utah to offer condolences to the family of Charlie Kirk.