NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Vice President Joe Biden spoke at Friday’s 9/11 Memorial Motorcycle Ride in New York City, offering admiration, praise, and thanks to the first responders who raced to the site of the attack on the World Trade Center 14 years ago.
“There’s a saying,” Biden told the gathered, “God created all men equal but then he created firefighters.” The same, Biden added, “can be said of police officers.”
“I think you’re all crazy,” the vice president joked, “but thank God you are.” He spoke admirably of the first responders, particularly noting their selfless bravery in the face of tragedy. Part of him, Biden admitted, wished that Friday was a rainy day, one more fitting for the mood of those who had lost family members, loved ones, co-workers and friends in the attacks.
He also praised the gathered for their courage, the courage to attend the event and mark the anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history. For five years or so after a personal tragedy, likely referring to the loss of his wife and daughter, Biden said he didn’t have that level of courage himself.
“Folks, there’s a headstone in Ireland,” Biden continued, “that says death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
“What you have, what I have, what we have,” Biden said, “a memory so profound it makes everything else in our life worth doing. We always rise up as a nation, we always ride on.”
Early in his remarks, Biden also quieted supporters of a potential presidential campaign in 2016, responding to chants of “Run Joe Run” with a simple “no” and a shake of his downturned head.
Earlier in the day, Biden had made an unscheduled stop at Fire Rescue 1, one of the firehouses that lost the most members in the 2001 attacks.
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