NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE CHAIR LEROY J. JONES JR STATEMENT ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 9/11 TERRORIST ATTACKS 

TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman Leroy J. Jones, Jr. today released the following statement in remembrance of the 2,977 victims lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 25 years ago.

“On this most solemn day, I would like to take a moment to remember the almost 3,000 souls lost to one of the worst attacks on American soil in our country’s history.  On that unforgettable day we lost friends and neighbors and saw what true heroism looks like as law enforcement officers, firefighters, first responders and countless others ran towards the crumbling Twin Towers to try and rescue even one more person.

"From that day forward, our American lives would truly never be the same.  Beyond the shock and the grief, the other thing that stands out so very clearly to me even all these years later was the fact that, on that day, our politics did not matter.  Our political affiliation was irrelevant and the only thing of relevance was coming together as a community to hug our neighbor and console those experiencing loss while we worked through the shock and the disbelief of what had been taken from us all.

"Now, 25 years later, we find ourselves at a point in our country’s history where a sitting United States president can stand at a podium and openly fabricate where he was and what he did on one of the most terrible days in our nation’s history.  And, even worse, he can do that without fear of anyone in his political party questioning the well-documented lack of authenticity of his remarks or the spirit in which he feels compelled to misappropriate the legacy of the true heroes who sacrificed so much that day.

"There is no question in my mind that, while we may be more divided politically than we ever have in our country’s long and wonderful history, we are all united in wishing to remember those we lost 25 years ago while also wanting to celebrate the absolute heroism we witnessed that day, and in the days and months that followed.

"On this one day among all others it is my sincere hope that we may forego our politics, put down our sabers, and allow ourselves a day to remember our American heroes as we mourn all those we lost the day everything changed."