9/11 anniversary brings Biden, Harris and Trump together at ground zero

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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris paid their respects Wednesday at the Flight 93 National Memorial to honor the 40 passengers and crew that died in the rural swath of Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

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Hagi Abucar places flowers for his former coworker Lindsey Herkness on the south reflecting pool during the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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Mercedes Arias stands by the name of her father Joseph Amatuccio on the south pool during the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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A woman holds up a photo of a New York City Police officer during the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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People place flowers on the bronze parapets that ring the reflecting pools during the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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From left, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, attend the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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A New Jersey police officer holds an American Flag before the start of the ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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President Joe Biden, second from right, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, second from left, walk with Flight 93 passengers family members Patrick White, cousin of Louis Nache, left, and Calvin Wilson, cousin of first officer Leroy Homer, right, after laying a wreath at the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Sheryl Stoll, of Columbus, Ohio and cousin of Flight 93 pilot Capt. Jason M. Dahl, pays her respects at the Wall of Names prior to the start of the 23rd Anniversary of September 11th Memorial Service at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa., on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP)

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Airline employees pause at the Flight 93 National Memorial on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, attacks in Shanksville, Pa., Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham)

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Flowers and a flag adorn one of the memorial benches outside the Pentagon before the start of a dawn 9/11 remembrance ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

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New York City firefighters bow their heads during a moment of silence outside Engine 4 Ladder 15 on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

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Members of the military and first responders salute as a flag in unfurled from the top of the Pentagon during a dawn Sept. 11th remembrance ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, far left, greets Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, far right, as President Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg look on upon arriving for the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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A New York Police Department honor guard holds an American flag during a 9/11 commemoration ceremony at Ground Zero, in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Sam Pulia, left, Willow Springs, Ill police chief, places flags on the bronze parapets at the 9/11 Memorial on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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A man wipes his eyes as he walks through the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

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A boy hugs a woman while attending the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, center and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, pose for a photo with firefighters from Engine 4 Ladder 15 on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

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FILE - The remains of the World Trade Center stand amid other debris following the terrorist attack on the buildings in New York, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Alexandre Fuchs, File)

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FILE - A makeshift altar, constructed for a worship service, overlooks the the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93, Sept. 16, 2001, in Shanksville, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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The Tribute in Light is seen in the sky on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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The Tribute in Light is seen in the sky in New York’s Lower Manhattan on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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One World Trade Center is seen at The Staten Island September 11th Memorial on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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The Tribute in Light is seen in the sky in New York’s Lower Manhattan on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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The Tribute in Light is seen in the sky in New York’s Lower Manhattan on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

By JENNIFER PELTZ, KAREN MATTHEWS, GEIR MOULSON, ERIC OLSON and MICHAEL RUBINKAM

NEW YORK (AP) — With presidential candidates looking on, some 9/11 victims’ relatives appealed to them Wednesday for accountability as the U.S. marked an anniversary laced with election-season politics.

In a remarkable tableau, President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stood together at ground zero just hours after Trump and Harris faced off in their first-ever debate. Trump and Biden — the successor whose inauguration Trump skipped — shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump.

Then the campaign rivals stood only a few feet (meters) apart, Biden and Bloomberg between them, as the hourslong reading of victims’ names began. At Trump’s side was his running mate, Sen. JD Vance.

The image was one of putting politics aside at this year’s solemn commemoration of the hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. But some victims’ relatives, after reading out names, delivered political messages of their own.

“We are pleading for your help, but you ignore us,” Allison Walsh-DiMarzio said, directly challenging Trump and Harris to press Saudi Arabia about any official involvement in the attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers were Saudi, but the kingdom denies it was behind their plot.

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“Which one of you will have the courage to be our hero? We deserve better,” Walsh-DiMarzio said. She’s a daughter of 9/11 victim Barbara P. Walsh, an administrative assistant.

Joanne Barbara was one of multiple readers who spoke out against a now-revoked plea deal that military prosecutors struck with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two fellow defendants.

“It has been 23 years, and the families deserve justice and accountability,” said the widow of Assistant Fire Chief Gerard A. Barbara.

Biden, on his last Sept. 11 in office, and Harris paid respects Wednesday at all three 9/11 attack sites: ground zero, the Pentagon and a rural part of Pennsylvania.

The president, vice president — and, separately, Trump — laid wreaths Wednesday afternoon at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Biden and Harris spoke with victims’ relatives and visited the local fire department; Trump and Vance went to a New York City firehouse earlier in the day.

The Flight 93 memorial stands where one of the hijacked planes crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit. Trump described the site as an “incredible place” in brief remarks from afar to reporters.

The attacks killed 2,977 people and left thousands of bereaved relatives and scarred survivors. The planes took down the World Trade Center’s twin towers and carved a gash in the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters, where Biden and Harris laid a red, white and blue wreath Wednesday afternoon.

While many Americans may not observe 9/11 anniversaries anymore, “the men and women of the Department of Defense remember,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier in the day.

The attacks altered U.S. foreign policy, domestic security practices and the mindset of many Americans who had not previously felt vulnerable to foreign extremists.

Effects rippled around the world. Victims came from more than 90 different countries, and the U.S. responded to the attacks with a “ Global War on Terrorism.” U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis and thousands of American troops.

Communities around the country hold events on the anniversary, which Congress has titled both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Thousands of Americans commemorate it with volunteer work — among them Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. He packed meals in St. Paul for people in need.

During early anniversaries at ground zero, presidents and other officeholders read poems, parts of the Declaration of Independence and other texts.

But the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum decided in 2012 to limit the ceremony to relatives reading victims’ names.

If politicians “care about what’s actually going on, great. Be here,” said Korryn Bishop, who attended Wednesday to remember her cousin John F. McDowell Jr., who worked in finance. “If they’re just here for political clout, that upsets me.”

Brandon Jones was glad politicians weren’t on the podium.

“This should be a site for coming together to find feasible solutions and peace. This should not be a place to score political points to get brownie points to round up your base,” said Jones. He’s a cousin of victim Jon Richard Grabowski, an insurance firm technology executive.

In 2008, then-senators and presidential campaign rivals John McCain and Barack Obama jointly paid their respects at ground zero.

Eight years later, the Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, abruptly left the trade center ceremony, stumbled while awaiting her motorcade and later disclosed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia. The episode stirred fresh attention to her health, which her Republican opponent — Trump, who was also at that observance — had been questioning for months.

Over the years, some victims’ relatives have used the forum to exhort leaders to prioritize national security, acknowledge the casualties of the war on terror, complain that officials are politicizing 9/11 and even criticize individual officeholders. Others bemoan Americans’ divisions or decry violence.

“It’s my prayer that this wicked act called terrorism will never occur again,” Jacob Afuakwah said Wednesday. He lost his brother, Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, a restaurant worker.

But many family members stick to tributes and personal reflections. Increasingly they come from children and young adults born after the attacks killed one of their relatives.

Thirteen-year-old twins Brady and Emily Henry read names to honor their uncle, firefighter Joseph Patrick Henry.

“We promise to continue telling your stories,” Emily Henry said, “and we’ll never let anyone forget all those lost on Sept. 11.”

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Associated Press journalists Julie Walker and Adriana Gomez Licon in New York; Josh Boak, Marc Levy and Darlene Superville in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; Tara Copp in Washington; and Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed to this report.