Donald Trump has once again reiterated claims regarding his presence at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, asserting that firefighters "lifted" him to safety in the immediate aftermath of the devastating event.
The former US President made these remarks during a speech delivered near the White House. The occasion was the 25th anniversary of the Twin Towers tragedy, where a substantial 21-foot, nearly 17,000-pound steel beam salvaged from the South Tower was on display.
Trump's Account of 9/11 Experience
Addressing the gathered crowd, Trump recounted:
“The United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down. The truth is, it creaked a lot. It creaked. It still creaks, but it never came down. And I’ll never forget two firemen. 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. 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. It didn’t come down. American steel.”
This is not the first instance where Donald Trump has placed himself directly at the scene of the catastrophe that resulted in the loss of almost 3,000 lives. He previously appeared in an interview with Fox on Sunday, during which he highlighted his perceived role in the aftermath at Ground Zero.
Trump stated: “I went down. I was building a building in New York, and I had a lot of construction workers. And I went down there very shortly thereafter, the following day. You couldn’t go down the same day, but like, the following day, very quickly afterwards, and we worked long and hard, but it was just so terrible, so hopeless.”
Discrepancies and Previous Claims
However, Richard Alles, a former Deputy Chief with the New York City Fire Department who spent months assisting at the site, has countered Trump's assertions, stating he never saw Trump at Ground Zero. After witnessing the horrific events from his property at 40 Wall Street, Trump gave an interview to the US news station WWOR-TV, where he claimed that his building had become New York's tallest.
He told the station: “I have a window that looks directly at the World Trade Center and I saw this huge explosion. I was with a group of people and I really couldn’t believe it – and even worse than that, for years, I’ve looked right directly at the building. I see the Empire State Building in the foreground and the World Trade Centre in the background, and now I’m looking at absolutely nothing. It’s just gone. And it’s just hard to believe.”
When questioned by the hosts about any damage sustained by 40 Wall Street during the terror attack, Trump responded: “Well it was an amazing phone call I made, 40 Wall Street actually was the second tallest building in downtown Manhattan and it was actually, before the World Trade Centre, was the tallest. And then when they built the World Trade Centre, it became known as the second tallest. And now it’s the tallest.”
During his 2016 campaign trail, Trump informed attendees at an event that a "screech" sound had prompted the firefighters to remove him from the scene. "I was there when we actually thought the US Steel building was coming down and I’ll never forget that I was standing next to these two massive wonderful firemen and we heard a screech and everybody thought that the U.S. Steel building was coming down and it was not so far from us. And these two guys there were massive guys, two really big — because I’m a big guy and they grabbed me. I must tell you honestly, I never knew I could run that fast,” he recounted to the crowd.
Posthumous Honour for 9/11 Hero
On Tuesday, President Trump posthumously bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon Welles Crowther, the 24-year-old equities trader famously remembered as the "Man in the Red Bandana."
Trump stated:
“After the plane hit the South Tower, a group of people on the 78th floor were trapped with broken bones, charred skin and eyes, and lungs filled with black smoke. Death was all about them; it was certain. They were sure they were going to die. Then suddenly, a rescuer appeared. They call him the Man in the Red Bandana. Have you heard of him? He’s become more famous than me. I don’t like it. Very unhappy. But he’s become much more famous than me.”
Welles’s mother, Alison, and sister, Paige, accepted the Medal on his behalf, expressing their gratitude: “This means the world to me, my daughters, Paige and Honor, and our entire family. This will be treasured for generations to come.”