25 Years Later, They Already Forgot

Twenty-five years later, September 11 still isn’t history to those families. It’s personal. And there was a time when presidents understood the particular weight of this day. George W. Bush certainly did. Whatever else anyone thought of his presidency, September 11 was never just another square on his calendar. He understood what had happened, who had done it and why. Donald Trump understands that too. In between, something changed. Barack Obama increasingly spoke about September 11 and Islamist terrorism through the lens of America’s treatment of Muslims. His administration seemed far more comfortable warning Americans about Islamophobia than it was...