(VIDEO) Trump Fires Back at NYT Over 9/11 Claims, Citing Ground Zero Clips

Adriana Stone 0 3 min read

(VIDEO) Trump Fires Back at NYT Over 9/11 Claims, Citing Ground Zero Clips

President Trump is pushing back against a New York Times report questioning his account of visiting Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks. The Times described his recollection as disputed and cited retired New York Fire Department deputy chief Richard Alles, who said he “never witnessed [Trump].”

The report focused on remarks Trump made at Tuesday’s Steel Across America event on the White House Ellipse. According to the Times, Trump “left the impression that he had been at the site in the immediate aftermath” and suggested that “two large firefighters picked him up and took him to safety.”

Left-wing independent journalist Aaron Rupar also attacked Trump’s account in an X post, writing, “Trump claims he was basically lifted out of the rubble on 9/11.”

Trump’s version of events centers on the former United States Steel Building, now known as 1 Liberty Plaza. He said the building was “creaking, really creaking,” and that people nearby feared it could collapse. Trump recalled two firefighters helping him leave the area.

“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.”

Trump has told a similar story before. During a 2016 campaign speech, he said he was at the site “a couple of days after” the attack, when “everybody thought that the US Steel building was coming down, and it was not so far from us.”

He also pointed to video clips and photos that he said show him near the attack site. In one clip, Trump is seen speaking to reporters on September 13th, 2001, saying he was “just down to Ground Zero” and describing the scene as a “disaster.”

Another September 13th clip shows Trump discussing the damage and the threat to nearby buildings. A news chyron says the top floors of 1 Liberty Plaza were “buckling,” a detail Trump cited while defending his description of the building’s condition.

Trump’s response also addressed a separate New York Times report about his plans for the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The story, contributed to by Maggie Haberman, said Trump would attend the Pentagon rather than the New York City event because “he wanted to deliver a speech and the annual event has long barred remarks.” Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to represent the White House in New York City.

Trump rejected that explanation and directly attacked Haberman’s reporting. “On another September 11th front,” Trump said, “Maggot Hagerman continues to say that I did not go to the New York World Trade Center event, but the Pentagon instead, because they wouldn’t let me speak in New York.”

He called the report “Fake News” and demanded a retraction, arguing that the story was not fact-checked with him. Trump also challenged the reporters behind the account to reveal their sources.

In his longer statement, Trump repeated that he was not at the site on the exact day of the collapse but said he arrived shortly afterward with a large group of construction workers.

“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. I discussed it today during my Remarks on the Ellipse, in Washington, D.C., for Tunnel to Towers.”

The dispute now centers on the timing of Trump’s visit and how his comments were presented. Trump says the clips, photos, and accounts from the period support his claim that he was at Ground Zero shortly after the attacks.

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