Former presidents reflect on 9/11: ‘We can’t erase the nightmare’

Former American presidents on Friday reflected on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as the U.S. marks the 25th anniversary of the tragic day.

“We can’t erase the nightmare that so many have lived through and are still living with today, but we can support the people who have given and lost so much by treating one another with respect, in person and online, and recognizing that what we have in common is far more important than what divides us,” former President Clinton wrote in a statement .

“As 9/11 moves further from lived experience into history, may we always take this solemn anniversary to come together and keep alive the memories of all who were lost,” he continued. “We owe that to them, to their loved ones, to each other, and to future generations.”

All living former heads of state and Vice President Vance are attending a Friday ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City. President Trump is participating in a memorial at the Pentagon, joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, first lady Melania Trump and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

A total of 2,977 people died during the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City; the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.; and at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

In a statement released Friday , former President Obama commemorated the lives lost during the attacks and commended the rescue workers who responded that day.

“Today Michelle and I are remembering those we lost that day, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the wars that followed,” Obama wrote.

“We pray for their families,” he continued. “And we hope Americans everywhere remember the true lesson of 9/11: that we can survive even our darkest days as long as we move forward as one nation and one people.”

Former President Biden said the nation will “never forget” this tragic day.

“Twenty-five years ago today, we lost 2,977 souls and in the years since, thousands more to illnesses caused by the attack on our country,” Biden wrote in a Friday social media post .

“This morning, Jill and I hold close the families who carry that loss every day,” he continued. “We honor the heroes of September 11th: the firefighters and police officers who rushed into the towers and the Pentagon, the passengers who fought back over Shanksville, and the generation that stepped up to serve in the aftermath. Even now, we remember the greatest lesson of one of our nation’s darkest days: at our most vulnerable, unity is our most powerful strength.”

Former President George W. Bush, who was serving as president during the attacks, reflected on his administration’s response to the attacks during a Wednesday conversation with Rice at his presidential library in Dallas.

Bush recalled the moment his White House chief of staff, Andrew Card, informed him during an event with schoolchildren that the second World Trade Center tower had been struck.

“I didn’t have much time to process that, but it was pretty clear to me that if we were under attack, that my job was to defend the child that was reading to me and her family and her country,” he said. “And so, it was a moment of clarity.”

The former commander in chief added, “I knew we had to gather evidence, and we had to gather the facts, but I assumed we were under attack.”