President Trump has responded after claims he made about being carried away from Ground Zero by firefighters on 11 September 2001 were disputed by several news outlets and fact-checking organisations.
What Trump said
Speaking at a White House Ellipse event on 8 September honouring 9/11 emergency responders, Trump told the crowd that nearby One Liberty Plaza, then known as the U.S. Steel Building, appeared at risk of collapse while he was at the site, and that two firefighters lifted him and carried him away. He said: "We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big strong guys, 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."
The dispute over the claim
Several outlets, including New York Magazine, questioned the account, noting there is no evidence Trump was at the World Trade Center site on the actual day of the attacks. Fact-checking organisation PolitiFact has separately examined Trump's longstanding claims that he personally sent hundreds of construction workers to help with the recovery effort, finding that the earliest documented footage or photographs of Trump near Ground Zero date to 13 September 2001, two days after the attacks, when he gave interviews to press including German broadcaster N24. Richard Alles, a former New York Fire Department battalion chief, told PolitiFact in 2019 he had no knowledge of Trump being at Ground Zero or bringing that many workers, noting that a formal record would typically exist given the coordination required with police and fire officials at the time.
Trump's response
Responding on Truth Social, Trump maintained his account was accurate, clarifying he wasn't at the site on the day of the collapse itself but "shortly thereafter, with a large group of construction workers." He wrote: "Everything I said was exactly accurate and, to prove the point, I am attaching clips of me there with numerous of my people, including my then Head of Security, Matthew Calamari, who has confirmed that very 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!"
He attached footage of himself at the World Trade Center site, saying he was there as soon as legally permitted, in which he can be seen telling a reporter he had 100 workers from his company assisting the response with 100 more on the way, expressing hope that those responsible for the attacks would be found and addressed quickly, and suggesting he would contribute to a widows' fund.
Trump also accused journalist Maggie Haberman of misreporting his attendance at this year's 9/11 commemoration events, disputing her suggestion that he was avoiding the New York ceremony because he wasn't permitted to speak there. He confirmed Vice President JD Vance will represent the administration in New York this year, while he attends a Pentagon event instead.
The White House's position
The White House told CNN that Trump "was a private citizen at the time" and that "not everything he did was documented." Spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump had spent the morning honouring first responders and their families, and accused the media of using the moment to unfairly criticise him.
UNILAD has approached the White House for additional comment.
