Former President Donald Trump has strongly refuted accusations that a personal anecdote he recounted about being at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is untrue.
During a speech honoring first responders at the White House on Tuesday, Trump shared a story about visiting Ground Zero shortly after the attacks and being pulled from a precarious building by firefighters. This account has since drawn criticism, with figures like California Governor Gavin Newsom labeling it a "lie" and media personalities questioning its veracity.
Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to address the narrative, specifically referencing a report by New York Magazine that questioned his whereabouts on the day of the attacks and his subsequent actions. "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," Trump posted. He clarified that while he was not present on the exact day of the collapse, he was there "shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers."
Trump stated he observed the attacks from his Manhattan residence, Trump Tower. He has previously claimed that he brought 100 construction workers to Ground Zero. His more recent recollection involves being extricated from a building near the site by two firefighters.
"I was building a big building in New York, and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened," Trump elaborated on past claims. "The United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down... 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."
He described the effort as difficult due to his size but affirmed that the building ultimately did not collapse. The detail of being pulled from a building by firefighters has been a particular point of contention for critics.
Trump directed a lengthy statement, nearly 500 words, at New York Magazine and The New York Times, demanding retractions and asserting that "everything I saw was exactly accurate." He also mentioned that his former head of security, Matthew Calamari, had corroborated the story to journalists multiple times.
The former president also addressed reports concerning his attendance and speaking role at the New York City 9/11 memorial ceremony. He stated that politicians are not permitted to speak at the annual event and that he had never requested to speak there, refuting allegations that he was denied an opportunity to speak.
In defense of his account, Trump shared numerous videos of interviews he conducted in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. These clips show a younger Trump discussing the unstable conditions and frequent evacuations of buildings near Ground Zero. "It's very dangerous because every few minutes a whistle will go off, and everyone will just run because you have all the buildings around it that are in such a weakened state that people just don't know," Trump told NBC News in a 2001 interview that he reposted.