President Joe Biden on Sept. 11 surprised many Americans by briefly wearing a “Trump 2024” hat in Pennsylvania, a moment that quickly went viral online.
Shortly after the photo circulated, the White House issued a statement regarding the president’s motivation for donning the hat.
Biden briefly exchanged hats with a supporter of former President Donald Trump at an event commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Biden spoke about bipartisan unity at a fire station in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after he, Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris made a rare joint appearance at the 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center site, also known as ground zero, in New York City.
Harris and Trump shook hands at the event, for the second time, following their pre-debate handshake on Sept. 10.
Afterward, Biden traveled to Pennsylvania, where one of the four hijacked planes—Flight 93—had crashed, and spoke with firefighters about the need for political unity.
Passengers aboard Flight 93 fought back against the al-Qaeda terrorists on board, preventing them from bringing the plane down in Washington.
The plane crashed into a field, and all 40 passengers and crew members on the flight died.
At the event, Biden offered a hat with the presidential seal to a Trump supporter, who asked the president to autograph it before the two joked about their respective ages.
“I need that hat,” Biden said, pointing to the man’s Trump cap. The man gave it to Biden and jokingly asked the president if he should sign it first.
Other attendees urged Biden to put on the red hat, and he was met with applause after briefly wearing it.
“As a gesture, he gave a hat to a Trump supporter who then said that in the same spirit, POTUS should put on his Trump cap. He briefly wore it.”
The picture surprised many Americans, with some Trump fans speculating that Biden was trying to send a message to Harris.
During the debate between Trump and Harris, the former president said that Democrats forced Biden to withdraw from the 2024 campaign.
“If he weren’t in that debate, he'd be running instead of her. [Harris] got no votes. He got 14 million votes,” Trump said during the debate.
During his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, Biden denied that he was forced to step aside.
“All those people who said I should step down, that’s not true,” he said. “We love our country more, and we need to preserve our democracy.”
Wednesday marked the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
During the event at the 9/11 memorial in New York City, Biden, Harris, and Trump were joined by Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
No formal remarks were given at ground zero; instead, family members of victims of the terrorist attacks read out the names of those who died on that day 23 years ago.
