- Reuters
- September 9, 2026
Trump’s 9/11 story faces scrutiny over ‘firefighter rescue’ claim
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- WEB DESK
- September 9, 2026
President Donald Trump’s latest account of his experience in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks has raised eyebrows after he said two firefighters once lifted him up and carried him to safety as a nearby building appeared to be in danger of collapsing.
Trump made the remarks Tuesday at a White House event marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks, where he was honouring 9/11 victims and first responders.
Recalling his visit to Lower Manhattan after the attacks, Trump said he had taken a construction crew to the area and was near what he described as the former US Steel building, now known as One Liberty Plaza, when concerns arose that the structure could come down.
“We thought it was coming down on top of us,” Trump said, describing how two firefighters grabbed him under the arms and carried him away.
Trump added that he told the firefighters he could run on his own but said they insisted on moving him to safety. His description was unusually detailed and quickly drew attention because it added a dramatic new element to his long-standing account of his activities following 9/11.
A story Trump has told before
Trump has previously said that he went to Lower Manhattan shortly after the attacks with construction workers to assist with the recovery effort.
In a Fox News interview broadcast earlier this week, he said he went to the site “very shortly thereafter” and that he and his workers “worked long and hard.”
He has also previously recalled being near the former US Steel building and described fears that it could collapse. The latest version, however, included the specific claim that firefighters physically carried him away.
There was genuine concern about the stability of buildings in Lower Manhattan after the attacks. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has documented an evacuation of its building on September 12 because of concerns involving nearby One Liberty Plaza.
Questions over Trump’s 9/11 recollections
The latest account has revived questions about how Trump has described his involvement in the recovery effort over the years.
Trump has said he brought large numbers of construction workers to Ground Zero, at times putting the figure at more than 100. He was photographed and interviewed near the site on September 13, 2001, and spoke publicly at the time about having workers involved in the recovery.
But former fire officials and fact-checkers have previously said they could not substantiate the scale of the role Trump has described. Retired FDNY official Richard Alles said in 2019 that he had no knowledge of Trump being at Ground Zero or bringing a large crew there, while acknowledging that it was possible he could have visited without Alles knowing.
The White House, when asked for further details about Trump’s latest account, pointed to an earlier 2016 speech in which he described going to the former US Steel building with a crew a couple of days after the attacks.
Trump’s latest retelling therefore puts a fresh spotlight on his personal memories of one of the most traumatic events in US history, particularly his vivid account of being carried to safety by firefighters as fears of another collapse spread through Lower Manhattan.
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