During a September 11 memorial event at the White House on Tuesday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump sparked renewed controversy by repeating and expanding upon longstanding claims about his personal involvement at the site of the 2001 attacks in Manhattan.
Speaking to attendees, Trump described a dramatic scene in which he said he was near the Twin Towers site when emergency personnel feared that One Liberty Plaza, a nearby building, was about to collapse. According to the president, two firefighters grabbed him under his arms, lifted him off the ground, and ran with him to safety.
"I remember, two firefighters, we thought it was falling on us, two firefighters, big, strong guys, and I'm not the smallest guy in the world. They grabbed me under the arms and said, 'We've got to get out of here,' and they literally lifted me up. That's not easy to do. I'm big! They lifted me and started running with me. I said, 'Guys, I can run myself.' But they were amazing, but they thought it was falling and it didn't fall," Trump recounted.
The president also repeated his claim that he brought a large group of construction workers from his companies to Ground Zero to participate actively in rescue and debris removal efforts.
However, major U.S. media outlets, fact-checkers, and former New York Fire Department commanders stated that no official documentation or testimony exists to support the claim that Trump was rescued in the manner he described or that he deployed a concentrated team of workers to the site. Officials who were present emphasized that all volunteers underwent organized registration, and critics accused the president of appropriating the tragedy for personal narrative.
In response to the wave of criticism, Trump posted a lengthy statement on his Truth Social platform rejecting the reports. He declared that everything he said was "completely accurate" and attacked media organizations, describing them as failing and corrupt outlets attempting to distort his words for political reasons.
Spokespeople for the president clarified that video footage exists from September 13, 2001, showing Trump near the site speaking with reporters about his desire to help, and they argued that attempts to refute his statements are unjustified.
Trump's full response included: "The failing New York Magazine wrote an article that I wasn't at the World Trade Center after the tragedy of 9/11, because nobody saw me there. Well, I don't think I was the first thing on anyone's mind, but I was there, of course not on the day of the collapse itself, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of construction workers. I discussed this today during my remarks on the Ellipse, in Washington, D.C...
Everything I said was completely accurate, and to prove the point, I'm attaching videos of me there with many of my people, including my then-head of security, Matthew Calamari, who confirmed this sad trip to lower Manhattan many times to many different journalists, but it's a story that just won't die.
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!"
