Obama pays tribute to lives lost, lessons learnt on 25th anniversary of 9/11: ‘We can survive even our darkest days’

Michelle Obama and Barack Obama attended at the 9/11 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony. The event was held at the National 911 Memorial and Museum in New York.

On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Former President Barack Obama issued a statement on behalf of himself and Former First Lady Michelle Obama. Remembering the heartbreak of the families, lives lost, and the overall loss of Americans, Obama highlighted the lessons from the tragic day.

Barack Obama on 9/11 anniversary

Commending the rescue workers who responded during the 9/11 attacks, Obama said in his statement: "If you were young in 2001, or weren’t even born yet, it can be hard to imagine what 9/11 felt like. The shock of that beautiful, cloudless morning. The heartbreak of the families whose loved ones were taken with such swiftness and cruelty. The realization that the forces of malevolence and violence were closer, and the future less certain, than we knew."

Obama also pointed to what happened next and highlighted the 'will of a truly United States of America.'

“But in the days that followed, we felt something else, too. Pride in the rescue workers who had rushed to the scene, and the passengers who had stormed the cockpit. Admiration for the men and women who left behind lives of comfort to serve their country. A deep resolve that nothing would break the will of a truly United States of America.”

Clinton calls it ‘nightmare’

Besides Obama, former President Clinton also reflected on the attacks.

"We can’t erase the nightmare that so many have lived through and are still living with today, but we can support the people who have given and lost so much by treating one another with respect, in person and online, and recognizing that what we have in common is far more important than what divides us,” he said.

George W Bush remembers attacks

Ex-President George W Bush, who was the president during the 9/11 attacks, recalled the day and shared during a conversation with Rice, "I didn’t have much time to process that, but it was pretty clear to me that if we were under attack, that my job was to defend the child that was reading to me and her family and her country."

Michelle Obama and Barack Obama were among the attendees at the 9/11 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony, which took place at the National 911 Memorial and Museum in New York on Friday.

Trump attends memorial

President Donald Trump is taking part in a memorial at the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, First Lady Melania Trump and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are also joining him.

About the Author

Sneha Biswas specialises in covering entertainment and pop culture, with a specialisation on Bollywood, Hollywood, OTT platforms, K-pop, K-dramas, and major developments in the US entertainment industry. She believes in telling stories that balance speed with substance, and in making entertainment journalism contextual, culturally aware, and reader-first rather than purely reactive.<br><br> With over six years of experience in digital media, Sneha currently serves as a Deputy Chief Content Producer at Live Mint. She has spent more than three and a half years with the HT Group and returned to the organisation in February 2025, joining Live Mint to uplift the entertainment section. Over the past year, she has been closely involved in entertainment coverage including breaking news, explainers, trend reporting, box office reports and analysis for the audience.<br><br> Sneha is Google News certified, having completed training focused on newsroom best practices, digital reporting, and SEO-driven content strategies. Her work reflects a strong understanding of audience behaviour, search trends, and the evolving consumption patterns of entertainment news across formats.<br><br> Prior to her current role, Sneha has worked across multiple content and editorial functions within digital newsrooms, building expertise in content planning, editing, and real-time coverage. Her professional interests lie at the intersection of entertainment, internet culture, and global pop trends.<br><br> Working for the National city team, Biswas closely follows global entertainment movements while maintaining a strong pulse on what is happening in India.

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