Trump accused of making up story about his experience on 9/11
Donald Trump has been accused of fabricating a story about his own experiences during the 9/11 attacks.
In a speech given today, Trump detailed going down to the rubble of the World Trade Centre with "the whole crew" he had working on a different construction project.
Donald Trump addresses a crowd on The Ellipse, outside the White House, honouring heroes of the September 11 terrorist attacks. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
"They had no hesitation. Everybody went down with me. We went down with a big group of people," Trump said.
He then described being dragged from the site by firefighters.
“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,” Trump said.
“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.’”
Trump's account clashes with the previous understanding of what he was doing on September 11.
The real estate developer was in his apartment at Trump Tower at the time of the attack, a 40-minute drive away in midtown Manhattan.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the Tunnel to Towers Foundation event for the 25th Anniversary of 9/11. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
In the hours after the attack, Trump called in to a New Jersey television station to share his thoughts.
During the interview, he said his property at 40 Wall Street was the tallest building in downtown Manhattan when the World Trade Centre was built.
“And then, when they built the World Trade Centre, it became known as the second-tallest,” Trump said.
"And now it’s the tallest."
Trump was present at Ground Zero two days after the attacks, where he spoke of having a hundred men from his company working on the recovery.
But there is no record of anyone from Trump's company working at Ground Zero, despite there being extensive documentation of the countless people involved.
Thousands of New Yorkers were killed in the September 11 attacks. Getty
Trump made the remarks this Tuesday at a memorial event in Washington DC.
During the speech, he complained about the plaudits given to Welles Crowther, an equities trader credited with saving 18 lives in the attacks.
"The Man in the Red Bandana. Have you heard of him? He's become more famous than me," Trump said.
"I don't like it. Very unhappy. But he's become much more famous than me."
Trump will be attending an event on the 25th anniversary of the attacks this Friday at the Pentagon, having rebuffed an invitation to the memorial event in New York.
It was reported Trump had refused to go to the New York event because he wasn't allowed to give a speech.
Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama will be at the event, as well as Vice President JD Vance.
Zohran Mamdani will attend the September 11 memorial event in New York. NYC Emergency Management
Also attending is New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, despite objections from predecessor Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani invoked Mamdani’s Muslim faith when criticising the mayor.
"This is not, ‘they want to be just another religion'," Giuliani said.
"They want to dominate us. That’s what they’re taught from the day they begin their extremist religious education. Mamdani is a clear, a clear supporter of that.
"They weren’t hiding it like Mamdani is trying to hide it."
Mamdani was a nine-year-old school student on the Upper West Side of Manhattan when the September 11 attacks took place.
Mamdani will attend at least eight memorial events in relation to the 9/11 attacks this week.
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