Letters from an American
· collected 2026-09-10 · by Heather Cox Richardson
commentary
President Donald Trump made unsubstantiated claims at a White House event honoring the victims of the 9/11 attacks, stating he took a crew downtown immediately after the attack and personally witnessed buildings creaking under pressure. However, there is no evidence to support these claims, according to CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, with Trump's own nephew contradicting his story. The White House attempted to defend Trump by claiming that as a private citizen at the time, not all of his actions were documented. This comes as part of a broader trend of President Trump making unverifiable statements and escalating trade tensions with Canada.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On October 8, 2024, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed, an event that has become a significant marker for young conservatives in America, akin to September 11, 2001 and the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. The day of his death is now referred to by some as 9/10, symbolizing its impact on political activism among students. Meanwhile, the small Canadian town of Gander played a pivotal role during the September 11 attacks when U.S. airspace was closed, leading to 38 international flights landing there, doubling the population overnight and necessitating an impromptu humanitarian effort by locals to aid around 7,000 stranded passengers and crew members for several days. This act of kindness inspired the Broadway musical "Come From Away," which highlights Gander's generosity and humanity in times of crisis.
Written for “9/11 Anniversary Reflections” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 167 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 7434: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-11
Yesterday, at a White House event honoring those who sacrificed their lives on 9/11, President Donald Trump went off script and claimed he had taken a crew downtown “right after this happened.
asserted
this → honor → crew
They were, they had no hesitation.
asserted
they → have → hesitation
Everybody went down with me.
asserted
Everybody → go → me
We went down as a big group of people.
asserted
We → go → people
Wasn’t too much we could do, I’ll be honest.
uncertain
I → do → ?
Nobody’s seen anything like it ever.
asserted
Nobody → see → it
We had other buildings.
asserted
We → have → buildings
United States Steel Building was creaking.
asserted
Building → creak → ?
And we thought it was going to fall down.
asserted
it → think → ?
The truth is it creaked a lot.
asserted
it → creak → ?
It creaked.
asserted
It → creak → ?
It still creaks, but uh, it never came down.
asserted
it → creak → ?
And uh, I’ll never forget two firemen.
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I → forget → 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.’
asserted
they → think → arm
And they literally lifted me up.
asserted
they → lift → me
This is not easy to do.
asserted
This → do → ?
I’m big.
asserted
I → ’m → ?
They lifted me up and they started running with me.
asserted
they → lift → me
I said, ‘Fellas, I can run myself.’
asserted
I → say → myself
But they thought it was coming down.
asserted
it → think → ?
It didn’t come down, U.S. Steel.”
asserted
It → come → ?
In fact, as CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale reported, there is no evidence for any of this story.
asserted
Dale → report → story
Trump was at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan when the planes hit the World Trade Center, and there is no evidence for any of his other claims, either.
uncertain
planes → hit → claims
Trump’s nephew, Fred Trump, added that Trump did not have a big building under construction at the time and the “only crew he claimed to bring to the site would have been secretarial and accounting employees.”
asserted
he → add → site
The younger Trump said he was so offended by President Trump’s claim that he felt the “need to speak out.”
uncertain
he → say → need
The White House said, “He was a private citizen at the time, not everything he did was documented,” and White House spokesperson Davis Ingle attacked the media for “using this to try to attack him.”
asserted
Ingle → say → him
Trump posted on social media: “Everything I said was exactly accurate.”
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I → post → media
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made goods went into effect yesterday, matching Trump’s tariffs on Canada dollar for dollar and rate for rate, covering about $20 billion in U.S. goods.
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tariffs → go → goods
Trump responded by escalating his trade war with Canada even further, banning certain products outright, and establishing new tariffs on Canadian motorcycles, alcohol, and dairy products on September 29.
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Trump → respond → September
The U.S. and Iran are striking at each other again.
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U.S. → strike → other
The U.S. said it attacked and destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday; Iran said it targeted two U.S. ships and eight oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday as they tried to traverse an area Iran has said is off-limits.
asserted
Iran → say → area
They also said they had fired at a U.S. military base in Jordan.
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they → say → Jordan
The price of oil has surged as fighting resumed, with the cost of Brent crude rising above $100 a barrel.
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cost → surge → 100
Tonight, Jennifer Jacobs of CBS News reported that Iran’s strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan caused damage to “[m]ultiple American military aircraft.”
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strikes → report → aircraft
Jacobs also posted that U.S. forces launched more than 30 Patriot missiles in their defense against the Iranian strikes.
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forces → post → strikes
Today Trump told reporters that the Iranians are prolonging the war because of the U.S. midterm elections and that he expects the war on Iran will end and gas prices will come down as soon as the elections are over.
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elections → tell → Iran
“They can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said.
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Trump → hold → ?
“They’re desperate to try and affect the election so that we can get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapons.
asserted
them → ’re → weapons
But tonight, Alexander Ward, Shelby Holliday, and Michael R. Gordon of the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s top advisors have warned him that the Iran war could continue for the rest of his term.
uncertain
war → report → term
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has already extended the deployment of some of the troops in the Middle East and has planned for additional extensions.
asserted
Hegseth → extend → extensions
…and 52 more, not listed.
