Kamala Harris and Donald Trump shake hands at September 11 memorial service

WASHINGTON-

. Switch to WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump followed a night of tense debates with a day of solemn tributes Wednesday, shaking hands briefly before a Sept. 11 memorial service at Ground Zero in New York City.

Harris and Trump, who shared a somewhat awkward handshake shortly before Tuesday’s contentious debate, planned to attend additional 9/11 memorial services later in the day, beginning with the ceremony at the site of the Twin Towers, which were the first target of the terrorist attacks on September 9, 2021.

As their relatives read the names of the September 11 victims, Harris and Biden stood in the front row, just feet away from Trump and fellow Vice President JD Vance.

Later in the morning, the candidates are scheduled to attend a church service in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at the airport where a hijacked plane crashed during a struggle between passengers and the 9/11 hijackers.

Harris and President Joe Biden also plan to attend a memorial service at the Pentagon, another Sept. 11 destination.

“Today is a day of solemn remembrance, as we mourn the souls we lost in a heinous terrorist attack on September 11, 2001,” Harris said in a statement before the ceremonies. “We stand in solidarity with their families and loved ones.”

The 23rd anniversary of 9/11 came the morning after a debate in which Harris sharply criticized Trump for his unpredictability and his conservative economic and military plans, while Trump angrily denounced the Biden-Harris administration.

Trump’s tirades were also at the center of the debate, including discredited conspiracy theories that migrants were killing and eating dogs and cats in an Ohio town.

According to a CNN snap poll, most registered voters who watched the debate thought Harris was better than Trump, with the difference being 63 percent to 37 percent.

While the candidates took a political break because of 9/11, their campaigns continued in line with the election campaign.

The Harris team sent out fundraising appeals to celebrate her performance, but reminded supporters that “debates do not win elections.”

“This race is going to be very close,” Harris said in a fundraising email.

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