As the United States prepares to mark the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a controversy has erupted over President Donald Trump's latest retelling of his role in the aftermath. Speaking to a crowd that included more than 100 first responders on Tuesday, Trump described being at Ground Zero with a construction crew he claimed to have deployed, and recounted a dramatic escape from a collapsing building—a story that has been met with widespread skepticism and accusations of 'stolen valor.'
Trump's tale, which he has told before, including during the 2016 campaign, centers on his presence beneath the US Steel building, now known as One Liberty Plaza, which was feared to be on the verge of collapse. 'The United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down,' Trump recalled. He described two firefighters who 'grabbed me under the arm, said, ‘Got to get out of here!’ And they literally lifted me up.'
However, many aspects of this narrative are contradicted by the public record and by those involved in the recovery effort. Richard Alles, a New York City Fire Department battalion chief who was on the scene about 20 minutes after the second tower collapsed, told PolitiFact in 2019 that he had no knowledge of Trump sending a crew of 100 workers. 'I was there for several months—I have no knowledge of his being down there,' Alles said, adding that 'if Trump had sent a crew of 100 workers, there would be a record of it.'
The Associated Press and The Washington Post have previously contacted Trump's campaign for details about his post-9/11 activities but received no response. Neither of the two firefighters who supposedly carried Trump to safety has ever come forward publicly, and Trump did not mention the incident in interviews at the time.
Trump's history of 9/11-related falsehoods includes claims that he saw 'thousands' of Muslims cheering in Jersey City as the towers fell, and that he 'predicted' the attacks in one of his books. His philanthropy related to the tragedy has also been questioned: in 2001, he pledged $10,000 to a recovery fund, which the city comptroller's office found was never delivered. His business empire received $150,000 from a post-9/11 recovery program, which Trump claimed was reimbursement for sheltering victims at 40 Wall Street, but the application actually cited lost rent, cleanup, and repairs.
Double standard over Mamdani
The controversy comes as Republicans, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have expressed 'offense' at plans for current Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim, to attend September 11 remembrances. Critics have pointed out the irony of attacking Mamdani's faith while Trump fabricates a heroic role for himself.
Tim Fullerton, a former digital strategist for the Obama administration, wrote on X: 'The people mad about the Mayor of New York attending the 9/11 event must be ENRAGED that Trump just lied about being at ground zero on 9/11. This is all about honoring the victims and not just to score points. Right???'
Journalist Ron Filipkowski, who has long documented Trump's fabrications, called the latest story 'stolen valor' but was struck by its specificity. 'I know he’s lied about his non-role in 9/11 rescue and recovery before, but never this level of detail,' he said. 'Trump could have made the ceremony with 9/11 first responders today about the many heroes who died attempting to rescue people and others who risked their lives and long-term health. But instead, he created a fictitious event featuring himself, who did nothing, as the hero of 9/11.'
Meanwhile, Mamdani on Tuesday released around 170,000 pages of records indicating that Giuliani's administration had misled New Yorkers about the severity of air quality risks near Ground Zero after the attacks. This release adds another layer to the ongoing debate over how the city and the nation remember and honor the victims of 9/11.
As the anniversary approaches, the contrast between Trump's self-aggrandizing narrative and the sacrifices of actual first responders has become a flashpoint in American politics, drawing attention to the broader issue of truthfulness in public life. For an international audience, this episode underscores the deep divisions within the United States over how to commemorate a tragedy that reshaped global politics, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed.
