Monday, September 11, 2023 marked the 22nd anniversary of al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. During a speech in Anchorage, Alaska, President Joe Biden called for Americans to "honor September 11 by renewing our faith in one another" and stressed that the United States has "an obligation, a duty, a responsibility to defend, to preserve, to protect our democracy."
Biden also spoke in memory of the late conservative Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona). Meanwhile, far-right MAGA Republican Kari Lake was honoring someone else on the 9/11 anniversary: Donald Trump.
On X (formerly Twitter), Lake posted photos of Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and wrote, "2 years ago, these two men were among the many heroes that emerged in the aftermath of 9/11. Today, they are being arrested and politically persecuted for questioning corruption in our Government. We were so busy bringing 'freedom' to countries around the world that we lost it here at home."
The Arizona Republic's Laurie Roberts, in a scathing opinion column published on September 12, slams Lake's tweet as ridiculous.
Roberts argues, "Donald Trump? A hero of 9/11?.... Like the 343 New York City firefighters and paramedics who died as the World Trade Center collapsed on them? Or the 341 firefighters, paramedics and civilian support staff who later died of illnesses that were the result of their tireless work that day?"
The columnist continues, "Like the 60 New York City and Port Authority police officers who died? Or the men and women who fought back on United Flight 93? Or the many just regular people who, in the worst moment in their lives, showed us the best of what it is to be human?.... Trump, a hero? The real estate mogul who on September 11, 2001, boasted that after the towers fell he suddenly owned the tallest building in downtown Manhattan?"
Lake has been a staunch Trump loyalist and is reportedly hoping to be his running mate if he wins the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
