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By AP 
14h ago
By Jill Colvin, Alexandra Jaffe and Darlene Superville
Shanksville, Pennsylvania – One spent time quietly comforting families.
The other proclaimed the might of the United States.
President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, celebrated the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday in memorial services where their differences in style could not have been more apparent.
Trump and Biden were traveling to rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the hijacked Flight 93 crashed into a field, killing everyone on board. But the two would not cross.
As Trump spoke at the site’s morning memorial ceremony, Biden was to visit him later that day, after attending the annual September 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York, along with Vice President Mike Pence.
In a rare moment of détente during what has become an unpleasant campaign, Biden approached Pence after arriving at the ceremony and tapped him on the shoulder to greet him. The current and former vice presidents then shared a bump to the elbow, the popular Covid-era handshake replacement, as did Biden and second lady Karen Pence.
While no similar meeting between Trump and Biden will take place, the day will nonetheless bring the two candidates closer together than they have been in months. And while the country will focus on the commemorations, the political significance of his visits to Shanksville was hard to ignore: Pennsylvania is a crucial state on the battlefield in the 2020 election. Trump won there by less than 1 percentage point four years ago. years, and Democrats hope to get it back in their column this year.
Still, Biden insisted he would stay out of politics on a national day of mourning that takes place amid another unfolding tragedy, the pandemic.
“I’m not going to be news today. I’m not going to talk about anything other than September 11, “Biden told reporters. “We removed all our advertising, it is a solemn day and this is how we will keep it, okay?” The Trump campaign did not offer a similar promise and was quick to point to Biden’s ads that were still running.
Trump delivered a patriotic message in Shanksville as he shared the story of Flight 93, which authorities said was headed to Washington, DC, until the passengers rallied against the hijackers and memorably declared “we’re going to roll” as they were taken off in mid-flight.
“The heroes of Flight 93 are an everlasting reminder that no matter the danger, no matter the threat, no matter the odds, America will always rise up, stand firm and fight,” Trump said while expressing empathy for the victims. families, telling them that “every heartbeat in America today is linked to yours.”
Trump also pointed to how the country had come together after 9/11, not to mention current divisions in the country over the virus and other issues.
“It was a unity based on love for our families, caring for our neighbors, loyalty to our fellow citizens, pride in our great flag, gratitude for our police and first responders, faith in God and the refusal to bend our will to the depraved. forces of violence, intimidation, oppression and evil, “declared Trump.
He and First Lady Melania Trump also placed a wreath at the site and observed a moment of silence aboard Air Force One at 8:46 a.m., marking the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center 19 years ago. years.
It was a different display in Lower Manhattan at the Ground Zero ceremony, where public officials were not part of the program. Biden comforted family members at the hearing. At one point during the ceremony, while listening to the reading of the victims’ names, he saw a woman crying in the crowd. Amanda Barreto, 27, of Teaneck, NJ, lost her godmother and aunt in the September 11 attacks.
She said Biden reached out to her and “wanted to let me know to keep the faith.” He told her that “he knows what it means to lose someone. I wanted me to stay strong. And she is very sorry for my loss. ”She said she appreciated her comments and would vote for her this fall.
Biden also saw 90-year-old Maria Fisher, who lost her son in the attacks. He told her that he had also lost his son, a reference to the death of his son Beau from cancer. “It never goes away, does it?” he lamented and handed her a rose.
The National Park Service, which is a co-host of the annual Flight 93 memorial event in Pennsylvania, had originally said it was planning an abbreviated ceremony this year to minimize the spread of the coronavirus, with no keynote speakers or musical guests.
But after Biden and later the White House announced their visit plans, the agency’s website was updated to reflect a new calendar that included comments from Trump and the home secretary.
In 2016, the 9/11 commemorative events became a flash point in the presidential campaign after then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton abruptly left the Ground Zero ceremony and was seen tripping while trying to get into a truck. Trump, who spoke about it repeatedly during the campaign, also spent the day in New York and paid his own visit to the monument in Lower Manhattan.
Friday was the second time Trump has observed the anniversary in Shanksville, where he made statements in 2018. Biden spoke at the memorial’s dedication in 2011, when he was vice president.
The 2,200-acre Flight 93 National Monument marks the spot in rural Pennsylvania where the hijacked flight crashed, killing all 40 people on board. Three other planes hijacked that day crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Almost 3,000 people died in the attacks.
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