Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by appearing on Fox & Friends and offering a strangely confused explanation of how Americans remember one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.

The occasion called for dignity, reflection, and respect for the nearly 3,000 people who were killed. Instead, Mullin somehow got tangled up over the difference between celebrating an event and commemorating its victims.

“I’m not a big anniversary person,” Mullin said. That may be useful information for anyone responsible for buying him a card, but it was an awkward opening for a discussion about a national tragedy.

“And to be honest with you, 9/11 isn’t a day that I just love to celebrate, because some people do celebrate the success that America has. For me, it puts kind of a bad taste in my mouth, and I think it does to a lot of other people.”

The problem is obvious. Americans are not gathering every September to celebrate the attacks, and describing the anniversary that way turns a solemn day of remembrance into some sort of uncomfortable patriotic party that nobody proposed having.

The country commemorates September 11 by honoring the victims, recognizing the courage of first responders, and remembering the families whose lives were permanently changed. It is not a subtle distinction, particularly for a Cabinet secretary whose department exists largely because of the security failures exposed by those attacks.

The hosts at Fox & Friends then asked Mullin to remember where he was when the attacks happened. It was a standard question, and one that generations of Americans can answer with startling clarity even decades later.

“At that time I was actually at a customer’s house,” Mullin said, before explaining that the attacks changed his outlook. That recollection quickly became a story about his own attempts to enter military service.

“I actually tried to join the military three times after that, and, because of some previous injuries they never would accept me, which is crazy because I try to keep myself in good shape.”

Mullin did not explain what injuries prevented the military from accepting him. The missing details naturally invite questions, especially after years of hearing Donald Trump and his allies wrap themselves in military imagery while Trump’s own avoidance of service remains part of the public record.

There is no reason to doubt that the attacks affected Mullin, as they affected millions of Americans. But turning a remembrance of mass death into a discussion of personal fitness and unsuccessful enlistment attempts is a peculiar choice for the official leading the Department of Homeland Security.

The stranger problem remains his use of the word “celebrate.” Nobody treats September 11 like Independence Day, and nobody needs a Cabinet secretary to explain that watching footage of collapsing towers leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

Americans remember September 11 in much the same way they remember Pearl Harbor and other devastating attacks. The rituals are built around grief, sacrifice, public service, and the obligation to preserve the truth about what happened.

Words matter particularly when they come from senior government officials. A homeland security secretary should be able to discuss the anniversary without sounding as though he stumbled into the wrong greeting card aisle and became confused about the mood.

Mullin could have honored the dead, thanked surviving first responders, and spoken about the continuing duty to protect the country. Instead, he delivered a rambling meditation on anniversaries, celebration, his injuries, and his physical condition.

That is not merely an issue of clumsy phrasing. It reflects the familiar Trump era habit of filtering major national moments through personal grievance, self promotion, and improvised commentary rather than approaching them with discipline.

September 11 is not complicated in this respect. The nation commemorates the victims, remembers the horror, honors those who ran toward danger, and expects public officials to understand why the day demands more than confused vocabulary and a story about themselves.