Remembering 9/11: World leaders honor America, the memories of those killed

Tribute in Light
Remembering 9/11 People look across the East River during testing of the 9/11 Tribute in Light installation on September 10, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Tribute in Light twin beams shine from dusk on September 11 until dawn on September 12 every year. (Photo by Jeremy Weine/Getty Images) (Jeremy Weine/Getty Images)

As the U.S. marks the solemn anniversary, world leaders pay tribute to those lives lost.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sept. 11, 2001, “remains etched in the world’s memory,” he posted to X.

“We do not forget the lives cut short, nor the courage of those who risked everything to bring aid. To the victims, the families, the American people, I express France’s tribute and its brotherhood.”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, “Time may pass, but I know the grief is still felt just as deeply today,” NBC News reported.

He added, “Terror still knocks on the door of democracy, but the United Kingdom and the United States stand together in memory of those we lost, and in defense of the values we cherish.”

Sixty-seven Britons were killed on 9/11.

On X, Burnham wrote, “On this anniversary, we must remember that hatred and fear did not have the last word on 9/11. The terrorists sought to weaken and divide America, and everyone who believes in the values our countries share.

“But our response was clear: those who seek to destroy our way of life will never win.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video posted to X, “We honor those who ran towards the flames and America and Israel say together, we will never bow to terrorism, we will never surrender to evil and together we will defeat it,” CNN reported.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the attacks “an attack on our way of life.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote, “Our resolve and opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations remain unwavering. We stand in solidarity with all efforts to combat this scourge.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remembered not only the Americans killed 25 years ago, but also the 10 Australians as well. “We think of the nearly 3,000 whose lives were stolen, including the 10 Australians, and we think of all those whose lives were changed forever, amid scenes so confronting that they remain seared into our collective memory. It was a day that changed the world,” he shared in a video, according to CNN.

First lady Melania Trump wrote on social media, “To those who lost loved ones, dreams, and hope on September 11, I know today marks only one day in an immeasurable void,” CNN reported.

Former President Bill Clinton wrote on social media: “As 9/11 moves further from lived experience into history, may we always take this solemn anniversary to come together and keep alive the memories of all who were lost. We owe that to them, to their loved ones, to each other, and to future generations.”

Former President Barack Obama wrote: “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.

“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.”

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