POLITICO Playbook: Biden, Bush and Trump: Discordant scenes from the

The 20th anniversary of 9/11 was wistful with talk of unity. Presidents BILL CLINTON, BARACK OBAMA and JOE BIDEN stood at the site of the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center as speakers remembered their loved ones and the country reflected on a moment it found purpose in a fight against an outside enemy that — for a time — seemed to unify us. Political divisions weren’t as pronounced.

But even amid the haze of those memories, the current state of American politics couldn’t help but pierce through.

— On the split-screen was President GEORGE W. BUSH at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., offering a reality check: In the past two decades things have actually gotten worse — not simply because of “them,” but because of “us.”

“[W]e have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within,” Bush said. “There’s little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard of human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them.” More on that from WaPo’s Dan Balz.

— The “Big Lie” that helped inspire the defiling of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 — which Bush obliquely referenced — didn’t take the day off. While visiting with members of the NYPD and FDNY on Saturday, former President DONALD TRUMP lied about the election being stolen and hinted at a 2024 run: “I know what I’m going to do, but we’re not supposed to be talking about it yet. … but I think you’re going to be happy, let me put it that way.” The full remarks.

In his pre-recorded video message marking the anniversary, the former president devoted most of the runtime not to remembering the attacks, but to attacking Biden, calling him a “fool.”

By Saturday evening, Trump moved on to Florida to offer pay-per-view boxing match commentary in what New York Magazine’s Matt Stieb dubbed “a vision from an alternate reality.”

— Biden was silent at all of the memorials he visited on Saturday. He did speak briefly at a firehouse in Shanksville, Pa. In a room where some locals didn’t even take off their MAGA hats while the president visited to thank fire-fighters and commemorate a generation-defining tragedy, Biden asked a question: “Are we going to, in the next four, five, six, ten years, demonstrate that democracies can work, or not?”

But the more immediate question for Biden may be whether his own agenda can work or not, as the administration faces a daunting few weeks that may well determine the trajectory of his presidency:

— The reconciliation package is supposed to be fully assembled by Wednesday. Expect a whirlwind of activity over…