NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — For one day, partisan politics fell into the background to make room for something more important, as the candidates concentrated instead on stories of lives lost and saved.
In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where grief and honor share the same grassy field, the president recalled those on United flight 93 and their sacrifice for their country.
“Nineteen years ago, on this day, at this very hour, on this field, 40 brave men and women triumphed over terror and gave their lives in defense of our nation,” President Trump said.
Former Vice President Biden came later, touring the site where the plane went down and telling reporters, “It’s hard to underestimate the willingness of decent people to literally lay down their lives for their friends.”
Earlier, Biden paid his respects at ground zero in Manhattan and briefly encountered his successor Mike Pence for an elbow bump greeting. The vice president then turned to scripture to capture the moment in front of the wall of names from the Twin Towers.
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” Pence read.
By then, the president was back in the White House for a major announcement, and a measure of the time that’s passed since the 19 extremist hijackers turned a regular September day into a tragedy.
“It’s a very historic day, a very important day and it’s so interesting that it’s on 9/11,” Trump noted.
The president announced that Israel and the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain are normalizing relations, coming on the heels of a similar deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. All three countries will be present at the White House for a signing ceremony on Tuesday.
“There had been two peace agreements with Israel in the last 72 years. This is now the second peace agreement that we have announced in the last month and I am very hopeful that there will be more to follow,” the president said.
Along with Egypt and Jordan, it will make four Arab nations now at peace with the Jewish state.
It has not been an easy week for the chief executive. But Friday’s announcement, on this particular day, shows what still can be done if you are the President of the United States.