Former President Donald Trump's smiles and winks during the Sept. 11 memorial in New York City Wednesday outraged attendees and onlookers who blasted the Republican presidential nominee for a demeanor they dubbed disrespectful.
Trump drew much criticism after attending the commemorative ceremony for the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at Ground Zero, and while he was there as well, according to a video clip shared by C-SPAN communications director Howard Mortman.
"Where were you for 20 years I've been here?" a ceremony attendee shouted at Trump. "Where were you?"
Trump made headlines by refusing to attend in 2021, despite the attendance of three former U.S. presidents, and in 2019 when he began Sept. 11 with a series of tweets complaining about unfavorable polls before heading to the Pentagon.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, a Democrat, lambasted Trump's followers for behavior he found inappropriate to the significance of the event.
"I’ve been coming to the 9/11 memorial for years. It has always been totally solemn and apolitical," Levine wrote. "But this year Trump is here and there are people in the crowd screaming MAGA talking points."
Ex-NBC Universal executive Mike Sington shared an image on X of Trump gazing up into the sky as attendees such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Vice President Kamala Harris bowed their heads.
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"A moment of silence in honor of those lost on 9/11," he wrote. "Look at Trump."
The New York Times' Michael C. Bender reported to his newspaper that Trump appeared cheerful during surprising moments.
"As names of victims were read aloud," Bender wrote, "Trump, who had been mostly stone faced in the presence of Biden and Harris, flashed smiles at the crowd and alternated between a thumbs-up and a pointed index finger before he gathered his entourage and headed for the exit."
Geoff Garin, pollster and former strategist to Hillary Clinton, responded to Bender's report on X Wednesday by asking "What’s wrong with Trump?"
The Advocate podcaster and comedian Dana Goldberg also professed herself shocked by Trump's cheery demeanor.
"This isn’t Trump after a debate or one of his rallies, it’s him at the 9/11 memorial winking at female photographers," Goldberg wrote. "He’s weird and gross."
