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Secretary Rubio's Remarks on the Anniversary of September 11

September 11, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:01:17

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered remarks on the anniversary of September 11, according to the State Department video, saying Americans remember where they were and how much their lives changed.

Rubio said there was a pre-9/11 America and a post-9/11 America, with so much changed from one day to the next — how Americans travel, how they view events at home, and a sense of vulnerability that an enemy halfway around the world could reach the United States and strike innocent people who simply got up, went to work and never came back to their families, as he described it.

Rubio also recalled the American spirit of that day — unity, and law enforcement and firefighters charging into a building on the verge of collapse, risking and sometimes losing their lives to save fellow Americans, as he put it. He closed with the hope that Americans remain vigilant that enemies are out there and an attack can happen again, and inspired by the unity that drove the changes made so such a day would never happen again, as he stated it. The State Department described the occasion as the 24th anniversary of the attacks.

Why it matters

The Secretary of State’s remembrance frames 9/11 as both a vigilance lesson and a unity lesson — the two themes the administration draws from the anniversary.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Secretary Rubio’s Remarks on 9/11”, 2025-09-11 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-09-11). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.