Trump to preside over his first 9/11 ceremony as president

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ABCNews.com

ABCNews.com(WASHINGTON) — To mark the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will attend a commemoration ceremony on Monday morning at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford will host the ceremony honoring the 184 people killed in the attack at the Pentagon.

At 9:37 a.m. on Monday, the exact time that American Airlines Flight 77, carrying 64 people on a flight bound for Los Angeles, was flown into the side of the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2011, the president will lead a moment of silence.

It’s the first time Trump will lead a Sept. 11 commemoration ceremony as commander-in-chief.

The president will receive “a comprehensive picture of the terrorist threat environment and what we’re doing to counter it from his senior officials on 9/11,” Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert told reporters at the White House on Friday.

“No terrorist should view us as vulnerable right now, farthest thing from the truth,” said Bossert. “Second, there is no actionable, credible threat to the United States right now.”

Bossert said President Trump intends to continue the practice of receiving a briefing about the terrorist environment on Sept. 11, a custom started by President George W. Bush and continued under President Barack Obama.

Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, for a separate ceremony at the location of the Flight 93 Memorial.

Last week, Trump proclaimed Sept. 11 as “Patriot Day.”

“We rededicate ourselves to the ideals that define our country and unite us as one, as we commemorate all the heroes who lost their lives saving others,” said Trump in a statement.

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