Ron and Casey mourn with 9/11 families at Ground Zero: Florida governor vows to ‘never forget’ as couple greet grieving relatives who personally invited them to 22nd anniversary

Ron and Casey DeSantis joined the families of the September 11 victims at the World Trade Center on Monday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the attacks.

Seven families invited Florida’s first couple to meet at one of the sites of the deadliest terrorist attack in American history.

The couple was seen walking around the memorial site, chatting with relatives and taking photos with them.

DeSantis was the only Republican presidential candidate on site, but he and Casey DeSantis were at the World Trade Center at the same time as Vice President Kamala Harris, who was there to represent President Joe Biden, who is spending the anniversary in Alaska. Biden returns from a trip to the G20 and Vietnam.

First lady Jill Biden will visit the Pentagon and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will be in Shanksville.

“Twenty-two years ago, nineteen terrorists claimed 2,977 innocent lives in the deadliest attack on America in our history. We will never forget,” DeSantis wrote on X, formally known as Twitter.

Every year at Ground Zero, a ceremony honors the nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

DeSantis said the terrorist attack inspired him to join the Navy after law school, where he served as a JAG office and was stationed in Iraq.

The Florida governor is the only veteran in the Republican presidential race and his military service is part of his campaign story, including in a major campaign ad that features images of the attack and DeSantis in uniform.

In addition, Casey DeSantis brought as one of her guests to the first Republican presidential debate the son of a 9/11 victim, who has criticized Donald Trump for hosting a Saudi-backed golf tournament.

The Florida first lady was joined in Milwaukee by Sean Passananti and his daughter Nicole Passananti. Sean’s father was murdered in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

“I am someone who volunteered to serve, inspired by September 11th,” Ron DeSantis said during the debate. He noted that being deployed to Iraq taught him to “focus on the mission first and foremost.”

‘That’s how I would see it as president of the United States. It’s not about me. It’s not about all those other side issues. My sole focus would be on your future and reversing the decline of this country.”

Ron and Casey DeSantis spoke to families of the attack victims

Ron DeSantis poses for a photo with a family member

In May, DeSantis hosted veterans, Gold Star families and relatives who lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks on the Florida Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee for a Memorial Day barbecue.

Few Republican presidential candidates celebrate this solemn occasion. Vivek Ramaswamy will also attend a memorial service in New York. Mike Pence will attend one in Iowa.

Biden, meanwhile, will be on the ground in Alaska for less than two hours on Monday as he marks the anniversary from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.