The widow of an FDNY chief killed on 9/11 slammed President Joe Biden’s “flippant” comment about the anniversary during an impassioned tribute to her late husband and the other victims at Wednesday’s memorial ceremony.
Joanne Barbara’s husband Gerard A. Barbara died when the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 9:59 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001.
“The elected officials here today show their respect and reverence to the families on Sept. 11, or – in our president’s words – ’do 9/11,’ quite a flippant remark,” Barbara said during her turn at the mic during the ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial downtown.
The grieving wife seemed to be referring to when Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he was “doing 9/11” when he got to New York City.
The president, 81, was in the audience when Barbara called him out, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and her election rival, Donald Trump, and his running mate JD Vance (R-Ohio).
Harris and Trump, who faced off in a tense debate Tuesday night, were spotted politely shaking hands ahead of the ceremony.
“Please remember that the 9/11 families live it every day,” Barbara said of the grief experienced by the loved ones of the 2,977 people who were killed in the terror attack.
Barbara also criticized the “outrageous” plea deal for the alleged 9/11 mastermind and two other terrorists.
Over the summer, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the accused principal architect of the al-Qaeda attacks — and alleged co-conspirators Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi agreed to plead guilty in order to be spared the death penalty for their role in the deadly hijackings.
The deals sparked a massive outcry, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin revoked the agreement on Aug. 2.
“If not for the 9/11 families, who knows what would have transpired?” Barbara said of the backlash that pushed the Biden administration to walk back the controversial deals.
“It has been 23 years and the families deserve justice and accountability,” she added, to the sound of applause and cheers from the crowd.
Joanne Barbara was one of dozens of 9/11 loved ones who spoke in honor of their late relatives at the emotional ceremony.
Another grieving loved one cautioned the ceremony attendees to “learn more about” the terror groups that continue to threaten the US.
“Please learn more about these organizations…that still chant ‘death to America,’” said the cousin of firefighter Stephen E. Belson, who was last heard from climbing the South Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.
Another woman, who was speaking in honor of her cousin, Jenine Nicole Gonzalez, wondered about her loved one’s last moments 23 years earlier.
“Did you panic? Were you calm?” she said.
Several of the speakers were young people who were not born until after 9/11 — and were honoring relatives they never got the chance to meet.
Others mentioned how their fallen relatives now had grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other family members that they never saw, but who were carrying their legacy into the next generation.
The ceremony paused six times to acknowledge when the four hijacked planes crashed into the WTC’s North and South Towers, as well as the crash at the Pentagon, the downing of United 93, and the collapse of both towers.
The moments of silence started at 8:56 a.m. – when the North Tower was hit – and ended at 10:28 a.m., when the North Tower collapsed.
A few steps away from the memorial, New Yorkers remembered 9/11 and its impact on their lives over the last two decades.
Spiridon Argeros, who turned 69 on Wednesday, recalled thinking that all the television channels were playing the same terrible action film when the attacks started 23 years ago.
“Oh my god, it was a terrible day,” he told The Post at the Oculus.
“I thought it was a movie when I saw the towers fall…I went outside and it felt like war. My mother called from Greece crying, asking about my children.”
Argeros’ son walked all the way from class at John Jay College of Criminal Justice on West 59th Street to Astoria in a desperate bid to flee the scene of the attacks, he said.
“He didn’t know where he was going, he was just walking away from Manhattan,” Argeros said.
“It looked like an atomic bomb had gone off, he had to get away from Manhattan.”
Argeros also remembered how the city united in the aftermath of the attacks.
“New York City helped each other like nowhere else could,” he said. “God bless America.”
Anthony Flesher, 35, was only 12 years old and lived in Iowa on Sept. 11, 2001.
The in-home caregiver, who now lives in Chinatown, stood near the site of the World Trade Center on Wednesday wearing a shirt that said “proud to be an American.”
“It’s a good idea for anyone who wasn’t alive on 9/11 or doesn’t have a clear memory of the day to reflect on it and try to imagine what it would have been like to be down here on the street and especially for the firefighters and police officers running towards the towers,” Flesher said.
He encouraged those who were not near one of the scenes on 9/11 or were too young to remember to watch videos about the attacks.
“I’ve never been here on the anniversary. I didn’t realize the families had the memorial to themselves but it makes sense because this is when they lost their loved ones,” he added.
“It’s hard to imagine being here in 2001, all the chaos right here where we’re standing. Hearing the bells ring out and seeing the families mourn, it’s solemn and sorrowful.”
