A woman who lost her husband in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks delivered a searing message to President Trump during a Ground Zero commemoration Friday, calling on him to finally hold Saudi Arabia accountable 25 years after the tragedy.
Terry Strada, whose husband Thomas Strada was killed in the attacks, spoke during the 25th anniversary ceremony in New York, directly addressing both Trump — who was not present — and the former presidents who were in attendance: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. “My husband Thomas Strada, you are missed more with each year that passes. But how can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?” she said to applause from the crowd.
Strada told the audience that litigation had finally established in court that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had fostered a culture of anti-American terrorism globally and supported the hijackers responsible for the attacks. She criticized successive administrations for choosing to shield Saudi Arabia rather than stand with 9/11 families over the past quarter-century, saying evidence was withheld and promises were broken.
She then turned her message directly toward the current administration. “President Trump can still change that. Tell the Saudis to stop lying,” Strada said, adding that if Saudi Arabia wants to remain an ally of the United States, it cannot continue denying the pain and destruction 9/11 families have endured. She thanked Vice President JD Vance, who attended the ceremony in Trump’s place, and asked him to carry her message back to the president.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks were Saudi nationals, and the 2004 9/11 Commission Report noted that the kingdom may have turned a blind eye to al-Qaeda fundraising activity before the attacks, though it found no evidence the Saudi government or senior officials directly funded the terrorist organization.
The commemoration comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom U.S. intelligence has linked to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump has previously called the crown prince a “very good friend” and praised the kingdom’s human rights record, while also hosting Saudi-linked LIV Golf tournaments at his properties.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, with 184 more killed at the Pentagon and 40 additional victims in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back against hijackers aboard United Flight 93.
[READ MORE: Fox’s Steve Doocy Chokes Up Recalling Daughter’s 9/11 Heartbreak: ‘Sally Thought I Was Dead’]
