Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Vice President Pence exchanged pleasantries on Friday in a rare face-to-face meeting when both men attended a ceremony to honor the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The two arrived in Manhattan at the World Trade Center memorial site and greeted one another with an elbow bump. The two briefly spoke ahead of the service.
Biden and Pence stood alongside their wives. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination, stood between the two couples. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), as well as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), were also in attendance and looked on as Biden and Pence exchanged hellos.
Pence went on to speak at a Tunnel to Towers Foundation event. He recognized those who lost their lives on 9/11 and their loved ones and read a Bible verse. When Pence finished speaking, a few in the crowd shouted “four more years” and applauded.
Biden is scheduled to visit the Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania later Friday. He will not cross paths with President Trump, who visited the Shanksville memorial on Friday morning.
The greeting between Biden and Pence marked a rare show of respect during what has been an increasingly brutal presidential campaign. It also underscored how rare it has been to see the Democratic and GOP tickets cross paths as the coronavirus pandemic has upended the campaign.
Pence has decried Biden as a “Trojan horse” for a radical agenda and warned that law and order and the economy are on the ballot in November. Trump has levied more personal attacks, claiming the former vice president is mentally “shot” and the worst Democratic candidate for president in years.
Biden took heat from other Democrats in early 2019 when he called Pence a “decent guy.” His criticism has otherwise been trained on Trump, whom he has accused of betraying the American people with his response to the pandemic.