President Trump marked the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks by issuing a stern warning to America’s enemies that any future attack on America would be met with uncompromising severity.

“If you attack the United States of America, we will hunt you down. We will crush without mercy, and we will triumph without question,” he said Thursday. “That’s why we named the former Department of Defense the Department of War.”

The president continued, “We won the First World War. We won the Second World War. We won everything before that and in between. And then we decided to change the game.”

Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended a memorial service at the Pentagon, where 184 service members and civilians were killed when hijackers steered a jetliner into the headquarters of the U.S. military.

Later Thursday, Mr. Trump will travel to the Bronx for a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers.

At the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, a moment of silence marked the exact times when hijacked planes struck, and victims’ names were read aloud.

The remembrance of 9/11, which is promoted as a day of national unity, comes a day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah. It has restarted discourse about the country’s political violence.

During his remarks, Mr. Trump marked the heroism of first responders and civilians, such as those on the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, who fought back against the terrorism and prevented it from crashing into a more populated area.

“On that fateful day, savage monsters attacked the very symbols of our civilizations. Yet here in Virginia and in New York and in the skies over Pennsylvania, Americans did not hesitate,” Mr. Trump said. “They stood on their feet, and they showed the world that we will never yield, we will never bend, we will never give up, and our great American flag will never, ever fail.”

At ground zero in lower Manhattan, the names of victims were read, and moments of silence marked the exact times when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center as well as when the skyscrapers fell.

Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, planned to attend the New York ceremony but instead traveled to Salt Lake City to visit with Mr. Kirk’s family.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins attended the memorial ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, but did not deliver remarks. 

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.