Donald Trump has frequently referenced the September 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on New York City, a tragedy that occurred nearly 25 years ago in his home city. Throughout his political career, including his time in the White House, Trump has repeatedly shared accounts of that day that contain significant exaggerations and verifiable falsehoods. These inaccuracies have persisted from the immediate aftermath of the attacks through his current second presidential term.
One of the earliest claims surfaced shortly after the destruction of the World Trade Center. In a telephone interview with a local news anchor, Trump asserted that the collapse of the towers made his property at 40 Wall Street the tallest building in downtown Manhattan. He stated, “I mean, 40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan. And it was actually before the World Trade Center was the tallest,” adding that it became the tallest once the towers fell. In reality, 70 Pine Street, located just a block away, held that distinction at the time.
Trump has also consistently maintained that he played an active role in the recovery efforts at Ground Zero. During a 2016 campaign event, he claimed, “Everyone who helped clear the rubble, and I was there, and I watched, and I helped a little bit.” This echoed comments he made to a German broadcaster shortly after the attacks, where he promised to send “a couple hundred people” to assist with the cleanup. However, a 2019 investigation by PolitiFact included an interview with a New York City fire department battalion chief who stated he had no recollection of Trump sending any workers to the site.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump alleged that “thousands and thousands” of Muslim Americans were seen cheering in Jersey City, New Jersey, on the day of the 2001 attacks. Despite extensive fact-checking efforts, no evidence has ever been found to substantiate this claim.
In September 2019, Trump shared a video on social media that purportedly showed Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the first Somali American to serve in Congress, dancing on the anniversary of the attacks. He labeled her “The new face of the Democrat Party!” However, CBS News confirmed that the footage showed Omar dancing at an event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus, which did not take place on September 11.
Trump has also attempted to claim he predicted the threat posed by Osama bin Laden. In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, he mentioned bin Laden as part of a list of “smaller crises” facing the United States. While bin Laden was already a known figure to the American public due to his role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Trump wrote on X in 2018 that the US should have captured him sooner, claiming, “I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center.”
Most recently, during a ceremony at the White House ellipse this past Tuesday honoring emergency responders, Trump recounted a story about visiting lower Manhattan shortly after the attacks. He claimed that he and a group of workers were at the site when firefighters, concerned that the nearby skyscraper One Liberty Plaza—formerly known as the US Steel Building—was unstable, physically carried him away from the area. “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 stated. He added that he told them, “Fellas, I can run myself,” but praised their actions.
While it is documented that concerns regarding the stability of One Liberty Plaza led to the evacuation of at least one nearby building the day after the attacks, there is no evidence to support the claim that Trump was present at the scene. Furthermore, his assertion that he brought workers to the site remains unsupported by evidence. PolitiFact noted that this anecdote is a version of a story Trump has shared previously, including in a recent interview with Fox News. The report also notes that but they thought it was coming down.
