The rule at Ground Zero has stood since 2012: no politician gets a podium. Just the names, 2,977 of them, read one by one.
Trump asked to speak. When organizers said no, he chose not to show up at all, headed to the Pentagon instead, where he would get a microphone.
Obama, Biden, Bush, and Clinton showed up anyway, with Michelle, Jill, Laura, and Hillary standing beside them, on the 25th anniversary of the worst day in this country’s history.
Four presidents chose silence over a stage.