September 11 marks a dark day for various Americans. Twenty-four years ago, tragedy struck when the Twin Towers in New York City, New York, best known as the World Trade Center, were struck by two planes, ending the lives of thousands of people. Since then, every September 11, the location where the events took place, also known as Ground Zero, has a memorial remembering the tragedy as well as all the lives lost. This time, however, things were a bit different when Vice President JD Vance decided to pull out of the memorial at the last minute. I wonder what he had to do that was so important?
Well, instead of commemorating the September 11 attacks, Vance and his family will be traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah, to visit the family of Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated yesterday during a speaking event at Utah Valley University. While Vice President Vance and First Lady Usha Vance pay respects to Kirk, other officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, will be in attendance.
Instead of being present, President Trump will be spearheading a memorial service at the Pentagon before later traveling to a Yankees game in New York. It does not appear that he will be paying respects to Kirk’s family today, despite the gunman responsible for the assassination still being at large. You would think that the President of the United States would be a bit more proactive concerning a major event targeting a conservative politician and likely their stance on gun violence.
Various commentators on the above Reddit post disagree with Vance’s decision, with the top comment saying, “So this piece of garbage would rather attend the memorial of a hateful alt-right influencer than come to pay respect for real, innocent people and heroes who lost their lives on 9/11? Extremely disgusting.” Others are more focused on the shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado yesterday, with another commentator saying, “I thought maybe he was going to visit the kids’ families who got shot in Colorado yesterday. JK! Of course they don’t matter one bit.“