Trump Outright Lies About Being Rescued By First Responders On 9/11

Donald Trump actually used what was supposed to be a speech honoring 9/11 first responders to claim that he was at Ground Zero after the World Trade Center Twin Towers collapsed and was spirited to safety by police officers and firefighters.

Trump has already chosen not to attend the anniversary ceremony in New York this year after the September 11th Memorial told him he could not deliver remarks, as has been tradition since such speeches are seen as political. Plus, Trump’s history of being unable to control himself means he would likely use the occasion to attack his political opponents and make wildly inappropriate statements.

And Trump demonstrated exactly that on Tuesday during remarks at an event to “honor” 9/11 first responders when he tried to portray himself as a survivor of the terrorist attack, which occurred 25 years ago in 2001.

During the speech, Trump claimed that he was at Ground Zero in the days following the attack and that first responders whisked him away to safety out of fear that the One Liberty Plaza building would also collapse.

“I’ll never forget two firemen,” Trump said. “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 arms, they 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,” Trump continued. “It didn’t come down. U.S. Steel, the 1,600-pound beam lifted from the wreckage of the South Tower, will forever testify to the courage and resilience and spirit of a city and a nation that saw our homeland, struck our towers, knocked down and stood back up stronger, more determined and more united than ever before.”

Despite Trump’s attempt to hype up American steel, his claim about being at Ground Zero in any capacity has been repeatedly debunked by the very people he claimed to be honoring during the event.

There are no accounts of Trump being at Ground Zero other than his own claim. No one saw him there. However, he did make a phone call that day to brag about his building becoming the tallest in the city after the towers fell.

CNN reporter and reliable Trump fact-checker Daniel Dale debunked the claim on social media.

Trump’s lies insult all of the victims and the first responders who died that day. Since then, 9,000 have reportedly died due to various cancers and other health issues caused by the collapse of the buildings and the cloud of air pollution that resulted.

This is precisely why he isn’t allowed to speak at the 9/11 ceremony in New York. Trump cannot simply deliver solemn remarks to honor the heroes and remember the fallen. He can’t resist trying to make himself look like a hero, a victim, or a survivor. He can’t stop himself from telling lies and then perpetuating those lies.

Trump was not at Ground Zero during that time. He was too busy bragging about his building becoming the tallest after a tragedy that shook our nation to the core.

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