Trump faces fact-checks over his shifting account of where he was on 9/11

President Trump isn’t happy that his half-truths about where he was during the September 11 attacks are being called out. On Truth Social Tuesday night, Trump posted an angry rant attacking New York magazine for questioning his story of where he was on 9/11. “The Failing New York Magazine wrote a story that I wasn’t down at the World Trade Center after the Tragedy of September 11th, because nobody saw me there. Well, I don’t think I would be the first thing on anyone’s mind but, I was there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers,” Trump posted. “The Fake News doesn’t want to listen, even when they know their story is false. That’s why their approval ratings are at an All Time LOW, but mine are VERY HIGH!”In a speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Trump claimed that he was working on a “big building” during the attacks, and that he took a construction crew to Ground Zero “right after this happened.” Then, Trump claimed, while he was at the U.S. Steel Building, it began to creak and two firefighters were forced to pull him away from the area. “I’ll never forget. Two firemen—we thought it was coming down on top of us and two firemen, big strong guys—and I’m not the smallest guy in the world—they grabbed me under the arms and said, ‘Gotta get out of here.’ And they literally lifted me up. This is not easy to do. I’m big. They lifted me up and started running with me. I said, ‘Fellas, I can run myself.’ But they were amazing,” Trump said. CNN’s Daniel Dale debunked Trump’s narrative, posting on X that Trump’s story Tuesday wasn’t the same story that he’s told in previous years. “While campaigning in 2016, he told a version of today’s story about being whisked away from One Liberty Plaza by big firemen, but he said in 2016 that the alleged incident happened ‘a couple of days’ after 9/11 and claimed the creaky building was ‘not so far from us,’ instead of leaving open the impression he might’ve been a) inside it b) on 9/11 itself,” Dale posted. That was one of the many refutations of Trump’s story in the New York article, which cited other tall tales Trump has told about the 9/11 attacks. But to Trump, with his ongoing cognitive decline and massive ego, “Everything I said was exactly accurate.”  

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Donald Trump has again inserted himself into the discussion around 9/11, claiming to have been pulled to safety by firefighters in the wake of America’s deadliest terror attack. The US President told reporters he was inside the United States Steel Building at the time of the attack when he was ‘evacuated’. ‘And I’ll never forget two firemen. We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big, strong guys — and I’m not the smallest guy in the world — they grabbed me under the arm, said, ‘”Got to get out of here!’” And they literally lifted me up,’ he said. ‘This is not easy to do. I’m big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, “Fellas, I can run myself,” but they were amazing. But they thought it was coming down. It didn’t come down. American steel.’ But the President has given conflicting stories about where he was on America’s darkest day. The now-President gave interviews in the aftermath of the attacks (Picture: Archive) In August, Trump told Fox News he watched the attacks unfold from his apartment in Midtown, which was four miles away from the towers. In 2016, he told a campaign rally: ‘Many people jumped, and I witnessed it, I watched that. I have a view — a view in my apartment that was specifically aimed at the World Trade Center. ‘And I watched those people jump, and I watched the second plane hit. … I saw the second plane hit the building, and I said, ‘Wow that’s unbelievable.’ Trump appears to have been in his apartment during the attack, but called out ‘fake news’ for questioning his recent story about firefighters – while admitting he actually was not there on the day of the attacks. He said: ‘The Failing New York Magazine wrote a story that I wasn’t down at the World Trade Center after the Tragedy of September 11th, because nobody saw me there. Well, I don’t think I would be the first thing on anyone’s mind but, I was there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers.’ The President appeared in an interview with Fox on Sunday, during which Donald Trump boasted about his role in helping in the aftermath at Ground Zero. Trump said: ‘I went down. I was building a building in New York, and I had a lot of construction workers. Trump said he sent men from his company to help after 9/11 (Picture: EPA) ‘And I went down there very shortly thereafter, the following day. You couldn’t go down the same day, but like, the following day, very quickly afterwards, and we worked long and hard, but it was just so terrible, so hopeless,’ he added. In another interview, he said he sent 100 people from his company to help with the cleanup at Ground Zero. Politifact reported in 2019 that New York Fire Department battalion chief Richard Alles said he wasn’t aware of Trump at Ground Zero or of him sending men. ‘There would be a record of it. Everybody worked under direct supervision of the police and fire department and the joint commander for emergency services,’ he said. ‘Is there a chance he was ever down there by himself and I didn’t know it? It’s possible, but I know of no one who ever witnessed him there.’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

Trump Claims Firefighters Rescued Him From 9/11 Ground Zero: "Got To Get Out Of Here!" President Trump has already attracted immense controversy when starting last month it became clear he is planning to hold Sept. 11 observances at the Pentagon, which was also struck. He's not planning to attend the more traditional ceremony and venue in Manhattan for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 in part because he wants to deliver a speech, says the NY Times; however, the event organizers have long barred remarks, seeking to keep it non-political and non-partisan. "The president’s interest in speaking on Sept. 11 was conveyed to memorial planners in recent weeks, three of the people with knowledge of the events said. But since 2012, politicians have been barred from speaking at the site," the report details. "The National September 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, has worked rigorously to keep the venue nonpartisan and focused on the solemnity of the day." "Mr. Trump, a native New Yorker who talked often about the Sept. 11 attacks during his 2016 presidential campaign, is now expected to commemorate them at the Pentagon, two of the people with knowledge of the events said," NYT continues. Vice President JD Vance is expected to represent the administration in New York. On Tuesday, President Trump just issued remarks sure to spark fierce controversy once again. Widespread reports have long documented that he was miles away from Ground Zero on that fateful day, but now he's using language as if he was a victim or barely escaped, or as if he was so close to the action and tragedy akin to a first responder. In the below he seems to confusedly switch between settings - as is often his style - going from talking about his own claimed rescue efforts with a crew of responders, to then narrating a dramatic tale of "running" from the site as it was feared a building could come down on them. Watch: Trump on 9/11: Two firemen, big strong guys, and I'm not the smallest guy in the world, they grabbed me under the arm and said, 'we gotta get out of here' and they literally lifted me up. This is not easy to do. I'm big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. They… pic.twitter.com/1FgeFuhdfZ — Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) September 8, 2026 ABC writes of the Tuesday venue where Trump spoke: "The event at the Ellipse was spearheaded by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and showcased a massive, 21-foot, nearly 17,000-pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, which had traveled for months across the country as part of the Steel Across America tour." Trump 'recalled'. at the Tuesday ceremony: "The United States Steel Building [the former US Steel building, now known as 1 Liberty Plaza] was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down. The truth is, it creaked a lot. It creaked." The president continued: "And I'll never forget two firemen. We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big, strong guys — and I'm not the smallest guy in the world — they grabbed me under the arm, said, 'Got to get out of here!' And they literally lifted me up." "This is not easy to do. I'm big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, 'Fellas, I can run myself,' but they were amazing. But they thought it was coming down. It didn't come down," he added. He may have even been talking about his own office and building(?), but the ambiguous account is made to sound like he's 'running' from Ground Zero. The NY Times has underscored further that he left the impression he had been right at Ground Zero: On Tuesday, though, Mr. Trump left the impression that he had been at the site in the immediate aftermath. “I’ve never seen such an unbelievable mass of steel and, unfortunately, bodies and everything you can imagine,” Mr. Trump told the crowd, which had gathered to pay tribute to the police officers and firefighters who had been killed in the attack, including a stock trader and volunteer firefighter named Welles Crowther, whom Mr. Trump posthumously awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. According to more background via the Times: This was the latest in Mr. Trump’s evolving — and often disputed — account of his actions on Sept. 11 and in its aftermath, when he was working as a real estate developer in New York City. Mr. Trump was watching television the morning of the attacks, which is verifiable from news coverage of that day, but what he did next has long been a matter of debate. He has repeatedly said that he took a construction crew with him to Lower Manhattan and was deeply involved in cleaning up the site, a claim that has been called into question by at least one former fire official who was involved in the recovery effort. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump renewed his claim that he had taken a crew to a building near the site where the World Trade Center had stood shortly after the attacks. He said that two large firefighters picked him up and took him to safety when he observed an unstable building. ...Reminds us of Hillary Clinton's infamous 'escape from Bosnia' under fire: This isn't the first time he has given such a story: "News accounts from that time put Trump about 4 miles from ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001, and footage shows him blocks away on Sept. 13, 2001, and Sept. 18, 2001," one investigation reviewed of prior claims. "None of those images or reports show him amid fire and ashes. And there is no record he was directly involved with first responders at the scene or that he sent hundreds of workers to aid the recovery. When asked, Trump has not provided evidence to corroborate the claims." People have been chiming in all day, providing their own personal anecdotes contradicting Trump... I know this is BS because I was with him in his Trump Tower apt once. I was looking through his telescope. He said, "I watched the twin towers fall through that ... it's solid gold." Those were his exact words and not a single word about going down there to help. https://t.co/u6y1nTkRpY — Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick) September 8, 2026 That Trump's tale was issued before a solemn 9/11 remembrance event is all the more shocking - and as an aside, is certainly no help to Republicans going into an already tough midterm election in November. Tyler Durden Tue, 09/08/2026 - 18:50