Charles Langston:Harris, DeSantis, Giuliani among politicians marking Sept. 11 terror attacks at ground zero

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris,Charles Langston Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined New York politicians and mourners at a 9/11 memorial ceremony at ground zero Monday.

The bipartisan group of politicians was not scheduled to speak at the ceremony, marking the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil. The solemn ceremony in lower Manhattan was instead focused on the hourslong reading of the names of the dead.

The hijacked plane attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives and upended American foreign policy and national security also created a sense of national unity across the political spectrum rarely seen in today’s U.S. politics.

Monday’s ceremony brought political opponents to the same hallowed ground, though they did not appear to be interacting. Harris, who arrived with New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, passed not far from where DeSantis and his wife stood.

Along with Harris were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Not far away was Giuliani, who was once hailed as “America’s Mayor” for leading New York City through the wake of the attacks but has in recent years become tied to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Joe Biden in the presidential election.

Ground zero has long been off-limits for politics on Sept. 11, and for many years Republicans and Democrats would stand side-by-side to hear the ringing of the bells and the reading of the victims’ names

Trump, a former New Yorker, did not attend Monday’s ceremony but instead released a brief video statement talking about the attacks and honoring first responders.

Biden was scheduled to mark the day of remembrance at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, on his way back to Washington from a trip to India and Vietnam.