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President Attends Prayer Service in D.C.
Aired September 11, 2003 - 07:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Washington, D.C. this morning, the president and first lady, Laura Bush, will leave the White House in just a few minutes for a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church. The president's schedule is much lighter on this 9/11 anniversary than it was on last year's.
We're joined now from Washington, D.C. by White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with more on just how Mr. Bush will mark the second anniversary of the attacks.
Suzanne -- good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The president is calling this a day of prayer and remembrance. That day is going to begin very shortly when the president and the first lady attend a church service about 7:30 this morning at St. John's Episcopal Church. You may see some of the vehicles behind me, part of a motorcade that will take him to that service that is to honor the families as well as the victims of September 11.
And then, at exactly 8:00 -- 8:46 in the morning -- that is the time when the first attack occurred on the tower -- that is when the president and the first lady are going to be joined in a moment of silence. They are going to be joined by 2,000 on the South Lawn of the White House.
We are told that the president is not going to make remarks at that time, but simply bow their heads, give that moment of silence, and then return back to the White House.
Now, about 3:00 is when the president will go and visit wounded soldiers, soldiers that have participated inside of Afghanistan as well as Iraq. He is going to be going to the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, and that is where he will talk with those soldiers and give them words of encouragement -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The vice president was scheduled to attend the memorial services here in New York City. That's been changed. Why is that? Do you know?
MALVEAUX: Well, yes. Initially, he was going to attend a service that was actually at ground zero, and Mayor Bloomberg told him that he would appreciate if he didn't do that, because, as you know, the security apparatus that goes along with the vice president traveling, he felt that it would be inconvenient for some of the family members, perhaps even delay them getting into that ceremony. He asked him not to. The vice president agreed, and instead is going to attend a service about 2:00 or so for Port Authority workers who had been killed.
The White House saying, of course, they understand completely. This is simply a day of prayer and remembrance. They don't want to make any type of trouble for the families who are going to be attending that service at ground zero.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux for us from the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 11, 2003 - 07:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Washington, D.C. this morning, the president and first lady, Laura Bush, will leave the White House in just a few minutes for a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church. The president's schedule is much lighter on this 9/11 anniversary than it was on last year's.
We're joined now from Washington, D.C. by White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with more on just how Mr. Bush will mark the second anniversary of the attacks.
Suzanne -- good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The president is calling this a day of prayer and remembrance. That day is going to begin very shortly when the president and the first lady attend a church service about 7:30 this morning at St. John's Episcopal Church. You may see some of the vehicles behind me, part of a motorcade that will take him to that service that is to honor the families as well as the victims of September 11.
And then, at exactly 8:00 -- 8:46 in the morning -- that is the time when the first attack occurred on the tower -- that is when the president and the first lady are going to be joined in a moment of silence. They are going to be joined by 2,000 on the South Lawn of the White House.
We are told that the president is not going to make remarks at that time, but simply bow their heads, give that moment of silence, and then return back to the White House.
Now, about 3:00 is when the president will go and visit wounded soldiers, soldiers that have participated inside of Afghanistan as well as Iraq. He is going to be going to the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, and that is where he will talk with those soldiers and give them words of encouragement -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The vice president was scheduled to attend the memorial services here in New York City. That's been changed. Why is that? Do you know?
MALVEAUX: Well, yes. Initially, he was going to attend a service that was actually at ground zero, and Mayor Bloomberg told him that he would appreciate if he didn't do that, because, as you know, the security apparatus that goes along with the vice president traveling, he felt that it would be inconvenient for some of the family members, perhaps even delay them getting into that ceremony. He asked him not to. The vice president agreed, and instead is going to attend a service about 2:00 or so for Port Authority workers who had been killed.
The White House saying, of course, they understand completely. This is simply a day of prayer and remembrance. They don't want to make any type of trouble for the families who are going to be attending that service at ground zero.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux for us from the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
