The White House has issued a strong response after President Trump faced criticism over remarks he made about his personal experience of 9/11, delivered ahead of the attack's 25th anniversary.
What Trump said
Speaking at a 8 September event on the White House Ellipse honouring 9/11 first responders and volunteer firefighters, including a posthumous tribute to Welles Crowther, Trump described being at the World Trade Center site on the day of the attacks. He told the crowd: "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 fact-checking
Several outlets, including New York Magazine, disputed the account, saying there is no evidence Trump was present at the World Trade Center site on the day of the attacks itself.
The White House's response
White House press officer Davis Ingle defended the president, saying: "President Trump spent the morning paying tribute to the heroic first responders who laid down their lives in service to others in the September 11th attacks and honoring their incredible families. The President was relaying his experience of a city reeling immediately after and in the days and weeks after the horrific attacks - and the fact that the failing legacy media is using this to try to attack him is a disgrace and yet another reason why Americans' trust in the media is at an all-time low."
Trump's own response
Trump addressed the criticism directly on Truth Social, maintaining his account was accurate while clarifying he wasn't at the site on the day of the collapse itself, but rather "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!"
