Critics Erupt Over Trump’s 9/11 Claims: ‘Disgusting Thing to Lie About’
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump’s latest account of his experience during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks quickly drew scrutiny Tuesday, as critics and fact-checkers challenged several elements of the story — including his claim that two firefighters once physically carried him away from a building they feared was about to collapse.
Trump made the remarks at the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” remembrance event, where he honored the victims and first responders of 9/11 ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
While recounting his own experience, Trump said he “looked out my window” and witnessed the aftermath of the attack before taking a “whole crew” of his workers downtown. He then described being near One Liberty Plaza — formerly known as the U.S. Steel Building — when, according to the president, two firefighters became concerned the building might collapse, grabbed him under the arms, “literally lifted me up,” and “started running with me.”
Trump has told versions of his 9/11 story for years. Still, fact-checkers, most recently CNN’s Daniel Dale, have repeatedly found no evidence that he or a large contingent of his employees participated directly in recovery efforts at Ground Zero. Footage does place Trump in the area in the days after the attacks, including several blocks from Ground Zero on Sept. 13, but former FDNY battalion chief Richard Alles, who was at the site for months, previously told PolitiFact he had no knowledge of Trump working there.
Trump’s claims about what he personally witnessed from Trump Tower have also faced scrutiny. His Midtown building was roughly four miles from the World Trade Center, and fact-checkers have previously questioned his assertions that he could see people jumping from the towers from there.
The president’s latest retelling — particularly the account of firefighters picking him up and carrying him away — quickly sparked a wave of incredulous and angry reactions online.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) press office posted on X, “An absolutely disgusting thing to lie about.”
New York Times columnist David French added, “He’s one of the most brazen liars we’ve ever seen.”
Read a sample of more reactions below:
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