Chip Minemyer | Stop it with the ‘darkest day’ ridiculousness (2024)

I am a frequent visitor to the Flight 93 National Memorial, a permanent tribute to the 40 individuals who died fighting back against terrorist hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001.

In all, 2,977 people lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City; near Washington, D.C.; and near Shanksville. In New York alone, more than 2,600 perished in the plane-struck twin towers of the World Trade Center, on the ground or responding to the emergency – including 343 members of the New York City Fire Department, according to records of the attacks.

That was truly one of the darkest days in American history.

On Sept. 11, 2020, then- President Donald Trump spoke at the Flight 93 site, telling the families of those who were killed: “Your pain and anguish is the shared grief of our whole nation. The memory of your treasured loved ones will inspire America for all time to come.”

Well, that memory apparently had faded away four years later.

When Trump was found guilty May 30 in a New York City courtroom on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his bid to win the White House in 2016, he and his followers were ready to equate his legal setback with those terrorist attacks of 2001 – and all darkest moments in the nation’s history.

Alabama Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Trump’s conviction brought a “very dark day in American history.”

Texas U.S. Rep. Troy E. Nehls said on the X social media platform: “Today is one of the darkest days in the history of our country.”

A Newsweek story pointed to criticisms Trump’s campaign was receiving after declaring: “THE DARKEST DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY!” – following the verdict.

Trump routinely ignores history in attempting to grab the spotlight – or in this case, the hugs and condolences – for himself.

Darkest day? Some perspective is in order here:

• Dec. 7, 1941: The Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, claimed 2,403 lives, according to the Pearl Harbor Visitors Bureau. That included 2,008 Navy personnel, 109 Marines, 218 Army service members and 68 civilians.

• Sept. 17, 1862: 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after just 12 hours of fighting at the Civil War’s Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland – as reported by the National Park Service. That has been called the bloodiest day in American history.

• June 6, 1944: Although the D-Day invasion at Normandy – 80 years ago Thursday – was a key moment in turning the tide of World War II, 4,414 allied troops were killed that day, including 2,501 Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded, the Associated Press reported. The AP reports that 73,000 allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded throughout the Battle of Normandy, which lasted for three months.

• Oct. 28, 1929: On “Black Monday,” the U.S. stock market fell 13% and prompted steep declines for major companies such as American Telephone and Telegraph, DuPont and U.S. Steel – leading into the Great Depression.

Other dark days? Try these:

• April 14, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. He died the next day.

• July 2, 1881: President James Garfield was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. He died three months later.

• Sept. 6, 1901: President William McKinley was shot in Buffalo, New York. He died on Sept. 14.

• Nov. 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy was shot as as he rode in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. He was pronounced dead within about 30 minutes.

• April 4, 1968: Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

• June 5, 1968: Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, a day after winning the California and South Dakota presidential primaries. He died June 6.

There have been many assassination attempts, mass shootings, highway pile-ups and horrific natural disasters – all very dark days.

Some, including President Joe Biden, called the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump loyalists attempting to stop the affirmation of the 2020 election the country’s “darkest day.”

Four Trump supporters died during the attacks on the Capitol – one as a result of being shot by police, two of heart attacks and one because of an accidental amphetamine overdose. Five police officers involved in defending the Capitol died in the days and weeks after – one of a stroke and four suicides, according to FactCheck.org.

But no one died at that Manhattan courthouse on May 30.

No U.S. Navy ships were sunk, taking their crews to the depths with them.

No soldiers fell down in the mud and blood of a battlefield.

No hijacked planes were flown into skyscrapers, and no emergency responders became the casualties of crumbling steel and concrete.

Any lesser “darkest days” statements are ridiculous and insulting to the real heroes connected to such moments in our nation’s history.

My heart always turns to 9/11 as the darkest day, certainly of my lifetime.

I’ve met many family members of the Flight 93 passengers and crew, heard the pain in their voices at the shocking loss – even many years later.

The Flight 93 National Memorial – essentially the final resting place of those 40 heroes – is a relentless reminder of their sacrifice on what was truly one of America’s darkest days.

And that memorial at Shanksville stands in stark contrast to other moments whose level of darkness don’t come close.

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