US President Donald Trump is facing renewed scrutiny over his account of his activities following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, particularly his claim that firefighters physically carried him away from danger near the World Trade Center.
Trump has repeatedly said he was present at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attacks and spent days helping with the response. However, he has not produced documentation supporting several of his claims, which have now been questioned by multiple news organisations and fact-checkers.
On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes. Two were crashed into New York’s World Trade Center, one struck the Pentagon and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to regain control. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, while thousands more later suffered illnesses linked to exposure to toxic dust and debris.
Trump’s firefighter claim
Speaking at an event honouring first responders, Trump said two firefighters rescued him from the area around One Liberty Plaza, located across from the World Trade Center complex. “Two firemen, big strong guys, they grabbed me under the arms — ‘You’ve got to get out of here!’ — and they literally lifted me up, and they started running with me,” Trump said.
“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. It didn’t come down,” he added. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has previously noted that One Liberty Plaza, formerly known as the US Steel Building, stands directly across from the World Trade Center site. The building was among those in the area whose safety was initially a concern during the attacks.
Fact-checkers question the account
CNN described Trump’s claim as misleading, reporting that he was miles from the World Trade Center on September 11 and was not evacuated from a building near Ground Zero that day. The Washington Post described the account as disputed.
PBS reported that Trump was filmed giving interviews near Ground Zero on September 13, two days after the attacks. During those interviews, he said he had brought construction workers to help with the recovery effort.
Trump subsequently claimed that he had mobilised around 100 workers from his company and spent significant time at the site.
But independent fact-checker PolitiFact found no evidence supporting key parts of that account. It cited Richard Alles, an FDNY battalion chief involved in rescue operations, who said in 2019 that he had no record of Trump being at Ground Zero or sending 100 workers there.
“I spent many months there myself, and I never witnessed him,” Alles was quoted as saying.
Other Trump 9/11 claims challenged
The New York Times has also examined Trump’s recollections of the attacks and described some of his statements as exaggerated or unsupported.
One claim involved Trump saying he personally watched people jump from the World Trade Center from Trump Tower. The newspaper noted that Trump Tower is roughly four miles from the World Trade Center site and found no evidence substantiating the account.
Trump has also repeated a widely debunked claim that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated after the attacks.
White House response
CNN reported that the White House was asked to provide evidence supporting Trump’s account of being carried away by firefighters. The administration acknowledged that there was no documentation of the alleged incident.
An unsigned email from the administration was quoted as saying: “He was a private citizen at the time, not everything he did was documented.” The White House later dismissed the media fact-checks and accused news organisations of attempting to use Trump’s comments to discredit him.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump had been recounting his experiences in New York during the period immediately following the attacks and criticised what he called the “failing legacy media”.
Trump rejects the fact-checks
Trump has continued to defend his account, calling the reports questioning it “fake news” and “made-up”. “I was there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers,” Trump said.
He added: “Again, check out the clips of me at the World Trade Center site. I was there as soon as the law allowed.” Trump also shared videos of interviews from the period as evidence of his presence near the site. However, the footage cited in reports does not establish that he was at Ground Zero on September 11 itself.
Trump further accused the media of being “angry” and “sick” over his political success, saying they were upset that he had won the presidential election three times.
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