President Obama ended his trip to the city by visiting the World Trade Center site, where he laid a wreath and met with first responders and 9/11 victims' families. Ten-year-old Christopher Cannizzaro, who was just 10 months old when his father, firefighter Brian Cannizzaro, was killed, "gave the president a fist-bump and handed him a prayer card with a picture of his father," reports CityRoom. The boy said of the meeting, "It means like the world to me. He's a very nice person."
Christopher added, "He was asking me about my dad. He asked about my necklace. He was just being so nice to me. He was being open with me. I was just truly honored to be here." But he had more complicated feelings about Osama bin Laden's death, "I was sort of happy, but they could have did something a little less harsh. It meant a lot to know that what happened to my dad happened to him."
Numerous elected officials accompanied Obama to Ground Zero—NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC Mayor Bloomberg, NJ Governor Chris Christie, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Robert Menendez, Senator Frank Lautenberg—but there were no public remarks. It has been three years since Obama has been at the site, and since then, there's been a lot of progress. Port Authority Director Chris Ward said, "It's a day of incredible pride. His leadership in killing Osama bin Laden brings a real sense of relief. The progress here is symbolic of that effort."
Obama will be returning this September for the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
