Quick Hit:

President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump gathered in New York City on Wednesday to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The event marked the first time the three were in close proximity, with Harris and Trump notably shaking hands just hours after facing off in a heated debate.

Key Details:

• President Biden, Vice President Harris, and former President Trump gathered at Ground Zero on Wednesday morning to honor the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks.

• Harris and Trump briefly shook hands at the memorial, with Harris arriving alongside Biden and Trump accompanied by his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

• The three, along with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, posed for a photograph at the site. Biden, Harris, Trump, and Vance are all expected to attend events at the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania crash site later in the day.

Diving Deeper:

President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump attended a memorial at Ground Zero on Wednesday morning, marking the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. This was the first time all three figures appeared together in public since Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, and they were joined by Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

Harris arrived alongside Biden and greeted the crowd with a smile. In a surprising moment, she shook hands with Trump just hours after both left the debate stage from the previous night. The two posed for a photograph with Biden, Vance, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Trump had arrived about 10 minutes earlier with Vance.

The gathering at Ground Zero came as part of a larger commemoration, with Biden, Harris, and Trump set to attend ceremonies at the Pentagon in Virginia and at the Pennsylvania site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed. “I’m going up to my granddaughter’s birthday in New York, then we’re going to watch the debate, and tomorrow I’m doing 9/11,” Biden had stated Tuesday evening ahead of the event.

While it’s not the first time presidential candidates have crossed paths at 9/11 memorials—Trump and Hillary Clinton both attended in 2016—this year’s event stands out due to the direct interactions between political rivals. Last year, Biden commemorated 9/11 from an Alaskan military base while returning from Asia, and Trump released a video message honoring the victims.