Trump’s Heroic 9/11 Story on Fox News Gets Debunked in Brutal Fact-Check
What To Know
- Donald Trump has repeated claims that he sent construction crews to help with 9/11 rescue efforts.
- The president told Fox News that he worked ‘long and hard’ in the days after the attacks.
- Fact-checker David Pakman found no records or documentation verifying the story.
As the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks approaches, President Donald Trump is once again sharing the claims that he helped in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.
According to RawStory, Trump told Fox News anchor Trey Gowdy that he sent his own construction crews to help with the cleanup and rescue efforts in the days after the Twin Towers fell.
“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,” Trump told Gowdy. “You couldn’t go down the same day, but like the following day very, very quickly afterwards, and we worked long and hard.”
The president also noted how he watched the attacks from an apartment building and claimed he knew it was a plane that hit the towers rather than a “boiler” or a “missile.”
Progressive political commentator David Pakman fact-checked Trump’s claims on the latest episode of his self-titled podcast. Pakman called the president’s story a lie he “seemingly cannot get away from because he needs it to fuel his massive ego.”
The podcast host took particular issue with the claim that Trump was working “long and hard.” He said, “Trump is working long and hard. Give me a break.”
Pakman explained that evidence of Trump sending construction crews to help “has never ever, ever materialized.” He did note that records showed that Trump “visited the area around ground zero in the days after the attack,” but there was no proof of him assigning workers to the rescue efforts.
Trump claimed on September 13, 2001, that he “had more than a hundred workers in there” with “a hundred more coming,” per RawStory. New York Fire Department Chief Richard Alles later disputed this claim, saying, “We would have had documentation of that. All the crews were operating under police and fire department supervision.”
Pakman reiterated there is “zero record” and “zero evidence” of Trump sending workers, adding that no news organization has ever been able to verify the claims. What there is record of, Pakman noted, is Trump’s comments about the attacks in the days afterward.
In a TV phone interview, Trump said that since the towers came down, his 40 Wall Street property had become “the tallest building” in downtown New York City. As Pakman pointed out, even that was a lie, as 70 Pine Street stood taller.
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P
All. He. Does. Is. Lie. He cares about one person. One. Himself.
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R
You are right, although if you take a look at him you might not think he cares too much about himself.
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J
It never ends with Trump's lies and misrepresentations.
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C
I am 83, I remember Trump saying he was in NJ and could see the people falling, no way to see the people falling from NJ. I watch for 4 days, firemen were still working the site. How can one person keep telling lies. I had respect for the office of President, he is one of the worst president to serve.
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J
If trumpty-dumpty lowered himself to go to such a dangerous, messy place (hahahahaha, yeah, right!!), you know he would have wanted pictures taken of his 'heroic' action. That's one way to know it never happened: no pictures. (Another way to tell it never happened: trump said it, so of course it never happened.
Also, I guess he gave up telling his other lie, about seeing TV footage on that day of "middle-eastern people" cheering the fall of the towers.
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S
He can't stand it not being about him.
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M
That's fox "news" for you. They go together so well. How can anyone what any of their channels?
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