At Ground Zero, 9/11 families turn to Trump as Obama’s old decision resurfaces
Families of 9/11 Victims Mark 25th Anniversary with Renewed Call for Trump to Release Files Implicating Saudi Arabia
A gray sky hung over the memorial site where the World Trade Center towers once stood as thousands gathered on a cloudy morning to honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — and to deliver an unmistakable message to the White House.
The families of those killed, along with survivors and relatives of first responders who later succumbed to illnesses tied to toxic exposure, used the 25th anniversary ceremony to intensify a long-running campaign: urging President Donald Trump to declassify and release additional files that could tie Saudi Arabia to the hijackers.
The gathering drew a formidable array of political figures. Vice President JD Vance attended the ceremony, joined by all four living former presidents — George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden — as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Governor Andrew Cuomo were also present.
At the center of the demand for transparency was Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was killed in the attacks. Strada took the main stage and delivered a pointed indictment of every presidential administration that has followed the attacks, accusing each of prioritizing its relationship with Saudi Arabia over the pursuit of justice for the families of the slain.
"Administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families," Strada declared. "They withheld evidence. They vetoed JASTA. They broke promises, both public and private. It has been one betrayal after another."
She specifically called out President Obama, who was among those present, for his 2016 decision to veto the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act — legislation that would have allowed families of the attack victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts. Congress ultimately overrode that veto, opening the door to litigation.
"President Trump can still change that," Strada continued, addressing the current occupant of the Oval Office directly. She urged the president to convey to Saudi leadership that maintaining a friendly relationship with the United States requires accountability.
Another speaker addressed Vice President Vance from the podium, saying: "Please carry that message back. Stand with the families. Stand with the survivors." The remark drew sustained applause from the assembled crowd.
Dennis McGinley, whose older brother Danny worked on the 89th floor of the South Tower, echoed Strada's frustration in an interview with reporters. McGinley, who was working across the Hudson River when the first plane struck, called his brother believing it was a small aircraft. Danny told him it was a passenger jet and described seeing people leap from the neighboring tower. McGinley asked whether his brother was evacuating; Danny said he had been instructed to remain in place shortly before the South Tower collapsed. They never spoke again.
"Administration after administration has not done anything for us," McGinley said. "In fact, they've blocked, blocked us every step of the way of getting justice."
He went on to frame the current moment as pivotal: "President Trump has a unique, historic opportunity here to be a hero, be our champion, finally close the books on this American nightmare, which is now becoming an American embarrassment. It's got to start."
McGinley said the unrelenting nature of the grief feels like an open wound. "It is like the wound never healed, and every year we get salt poured back into that wound."
Among those urging Trump to act is Passananti, a member of the advocacy group 9/11 Justice, whose father, Horace Robert Passananti, was working on the 100th floor of the North Tower on the day of the attacks. Passananti was 32 years old when he placed a call to his father after learning a plane had struck the building. He never heard from him again.
Passananti said he has attended the memorial every year since the attacks with only a single exception. "I wish I wasn't here, obviously, but I feel like I have to be here every year," he said.
He described the struggle to obtain information as surreal and maddening. "We've really been on our own — the families — trying to obtain evidence. We've gotten really no help from our government. We feel like they've put Saudi Arabia ahead of the 9/11 families, and we're hoping that will change."
He also used a phrase that captured the collective exasperation of many in the crowd: "It feels really like a twilight zone and unbelievable that we have to fight for justice for the worst terrorist attack that ever happened on our soil."
The families' allegations focus on specific individuals with ties to Saudi Arabia. At the center of their claims is Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national they accuse of helping two of the hijackers — Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar — establish themselves in San Diego shortly before the attacks. They also point to Fahad al-Thumairy, an accredited Saudi diplomat and imam at the King Fahd Mosque in California, who allegedly had extensive contact with al-Bayoumi. Additionally, they have raised questions about Osama Bassnan, another Saudi national, though the 9/11 Commission found no evidence that he provided financial support to the hijackers.
The official 9/11 Commission report documented the connections between these individuals and the hijackers but did not conclude that the Saudi government or senior Saudi officials knowingly supported the plot. Saudi Arabia has consistently and repeatedly denied any involvement.
However, the legal landscape has shifted in recent months. In August 2025, U.S. District Judge George Daniels ruled that families could proceed with civil claims against Saudi Arabia, finding that they had presented sufficient evidence to advance toward trial. The ruling did not, however, determine that Saudi Arabia was responsible for the attacks.
Families say that this ruling, combined with newly released investigative material and intelligence from both the FBI and British agencies, provides compelling grounds for Trump to authorize the release of additional classified records.
The emotional weight of the day extended well beyond those who lost family members in the attacks themselves. Relatives of first responders who developed cancer and other serious illnesses linked to their work at Ground Zero and surrounding areas also gathered to mourn their loved ones, many of whom died years after the towers fell.
Jen Nilsen, whose husband was killed in the attacks, spoke simply but powerfully about the enduring nature of loss. "It doesn't change at the 25th year," she said. "The pain is still there." Nilsen said she returns to the memorial because "this is where he is." To younger generations, she offered a message that resonated with many: "Never forget. Even though years go on, you never forget. You never get over it. The hurt is always there. The pain is always here."
Trump himself has acknowledged that questions about the attacks remain unanswered. In 2022, while defending his decision to host the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament at his New Jersey golf club amid protests from 9/11 families, Trump said, "Nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11."
That said, Trump has not publicly stated whether he intends to support the release of additional classified files related to Saudi Arabia's alleged ties to the hijackers. His attendance at a separate ceremony at the Pentagon on the 25th anniversary — where he planned to honor victims and first responders — suggested that the anniversary would be marked at the highest levels of government, even as families continue to press for answers they say have been denied for a quarter of a century.
For those who gathered under the overcast skies at the memorial site, the message was clear: 25 years have not dulled the call for accountability, and the families believe the time for action may finally have arrived.