Donald Trump claimed during a memorial ceremony that he was pulled from Ground Zero by firefighters on 9/11, but this appears to be false. In reality, Trump said in a 2001 phone call with a local TV station that he watched an explosion from his Trump Tower window over four miles away from the Twin Towers. This is not the first time Trump has been involved in controversy related to 9/11, having previously made false claims about Muslims cheering the attacks and ignoring pleas to help first responders pass a law reauthorizing healthcare funding for them. The White House ceremony was held near the White House on Tuesday morning.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
President Donald Trump claimed in a speech on Tuesday that he was pulled from Ground Zero by two firefighters immediately after the 9/11 attacks. However, Trump has previously recounted watching an explosion from his Trump Tower window over four miles away from the Twin Towers in 2001. This latest claim appears to be another false account of his experiences on 9/11. Despite this, Trump insisted that everything he said was "exactly accurate" and shared a video clip of himself speaking after the attacks. The incident is just one of several 9/11-related controversies Trump has been involved in over the years, including claims that Muslims cheered the destruction of the World Trade Center.
Written for “Trump's 9/11 Misremembering” on 2026-09-09,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score -0.65 for article 7248 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-09
Getting pulled from Ground Zero by firefighters, he seemed to claim on Tuesday.
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he → pull → Tuesday
“We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big strong guys… they grabbed me under the arms, said, ‘got to get out of here!’ and they literally lifted me up… and they started running with me,” the president said in a rambling speech at a memorial ceremony near the White House on Tuesday morning.
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president → think → morning
But calling into a local television station a few hours after the attacks in 2001, the real estate developer recounted watching an explosion out of his Trump Tower window more than four miles from the Twin Towers.
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developer → call → Towers
True to form, he found a way to make the moment about himself, adding that his building, 40 Wall Street, was now the tallest in downtown Manhattan.
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building → find → Manhattan
The president has landed himself in several 9/11-related controversies in the last 25 years.
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president → land → years
During the 2016 presidential race, he ignored pleas to help 9/11 first responders pass the reauthorization of the law that set up a health care fund for the police, firefighters, and other rescue workers.
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that → ignore → police
In 2015, he falsely said “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in Jersey City cheered the destruction of the Twin Towers.
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thousands → say → Towers
And after the attacks, he “ignored the federal definition of a small business” to collect economic recovery aid meant to go to small businesses for his building at 40 Wall Street.
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he → ignore → Street
This year, Trump will be the only living president not in attendance at the Ground Zero memorial ceremony in New York City for the 25th anniversary of the attacks, in part because the ceremony’s organizers wouldn’t let him deliver a speech, according to a New York Times report.
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him → live → report
Trump responded by saying the story was made up and calling Times reporter Maggie Haberman, one of the four reporters bylined on the story, “Maggot.”
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story → respond → story
