Trump claims firefighters carried him to safety ‘right after’ 9/11, but his account is disputed
France 24
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France 24
Original Source
Donald Trump claimed firefighters rescued him from Ground Zero shortly after 9/11, but witnesses, journalists, and even his own earlier statements contradict this account of events.
In Tuesday’s speech in Washington, Donald Trump said he had been working on a building in New York and took his construction workers to Ground Zero “right after this happened”, and described being carried to safety by two firefighters near the US Steel Building.
“I’ll never forget two firemen,” Trump said. “We thought it was coming down on top of us,” he recalled, saying the firefighters grabbed him under the arms and “literally lifted me up” before running with him.
The remarks prompted renewed scrutiny of Trump’s account, including by New York Magazine, which questioned his version of events.
Trump subsequently responded on Truth Social, criticising the publication and clarifying that he was not at the World Trade Center “on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter.”
But that same version of events has been rebutted by witnesses and journalists, and indeed even Trump himself at one point. He’s repeated the tale at least once before, in a January 2016 campaign stop in New Hampshire, however that time, he said the incident occurred “a couple of days after 9/11”
There are also questions about whether Trump was at Ground Zero at all. CNN journalist Daniel Dale - known for fact-checking false claims from Trump’s first term - said the US President was at Trump Tower, several miles from the World Trade Center.
A former Trump Organization executive also told Politico in 2016 that Trump was in his office at Trump Tower during the attacks: “We saw it out the window. I was sitting in his office.”
Trump has made other claims over the years about his presence at Ground Zero and his involvement in the recovery effort. Two days after the attacks, he told reporters that he had hundreds of workers at the site and was bringing more.
However, a New York Fire Department chief told The New York Times in 2019 that, despite spending months at Ground Zero, he never saw Trump there. Other news reports have placed Trump at the site in the days following the attacks, although the extent of his involvement in the recovery operation remains unclear.
Trump also said in 2015 he personally saw people jumping from the World Trade Center, though Trump Tower was roughly four miles from the site, making such a view difficult to reconcile with his location.
That same year, Trump claimed that he had seen “thousands and thousands” of Muslim Americans in New Jersey celebrating the attacks. New Jersey officials found no evidence of such mass celebrations, deeming this account false and Islamophobic.
“I’ll never forget two firemen,” Trump said. “We thought it was coming down on top of us,” he recalled, saying the firefighters grabbed him under the arms and “literally lifted me up” before running with him.
The remarks prompted renewed scrutiny of Trump’s account, including by New York Magazine, which questioned his version of events.
Trump subsequently responded on Truth Social, criticising the publication and clarifying that he was not at the World Trade Center “on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter.”
But that same version of events has been rebutted by witnesses and journalists, and indeed even Trump himself at one point. He’s repeated the tale at least once before, in a January 2016 campaign stop in New Hampshire, however that time, he said the incident occurred “a couple of days after 9/11”
There are also questions about whether Trump was at Ground Zero at all. CNN journalist Daniel Dale - known for fact-checking false claims from Trump’s first term - said the US President was at Trump Tower, several miles from the World Trade Center.
A former Trump Organization executive also told Politico in 2016 that Trump was in his office at Trump Tower during the attacks: “We saw it out the window. I was sitting in his office.”
Trump has made other claims over the years about his presence at Ground Zero and his involvement in the recovery effort. Two days after the attacks, he told reporters that he had hundreds of workers at the site and was bringing more.
However, a New York Fire Department chief told The New York Times in 2019 that, despite spending months at Ground Zero, he never saw Trump there. Other news reports have placed Trump at the site in the days following the attacks, although the extent of his involvement in the recovery operation remains unclear.
Trump also said in 2015 he personally saw people jumping from the World Trade Center, though Trump Tower was roughly four miles from the site, making such a view difficult to reconcile with his location.
That same year, Trump claimed that he had seen “thousands and thousands” of Muslim Americans in New Jersey celebrating the attacks. New Jersey officials found no evidence of such mass celebrations, deeming this account false and Islamophobic.
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Tags:#دونالد ترامب#11 سبتمبر#نيويورك#الدقة الإعلامية#حقائق مثيرة للجدل
Source: France 24
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