Former President Donald Trump has made more than a few dubious claims about September 11 over the years. Now 20 years later he's suggested he was in the heart of the action himself.
During an appearance on Newsmax, Trump claimed "two big firemen" pulled him to safety after he predicted a nearby building would collapse.
You can hear him speak in the video below.
In his remarks, Trump suggested his own prescience ultimately saved him and others.
"We were hearing creaks, I've never forgotten it, it was I think the United States Steel Building it was called at the time, and it's 50 stories tall, and we heard creaks."
"I said 'that building is going to come down,' and two big firemen grabbed me, and grabbed other people, and they just moved out of that area."
However, he noted the building didn't come down at all.
"Never came down but I never heard a noise like that. And it was a scary situation, but the job they did was so incredible, the first responders."
Many found Trump's new claim ludicrous and criticized him for his history of pathological lying.
So NOW he was also a structural engineer on 9/11 dispensing advice and of course saving countless lives...I can't wait until the "two big firemen" become sobbing heaps saying "sir, sir you are the best person ever, god called us to save you" etc etchttps://twitter.com/Salon/status/1435770388273942531\u00a0\u2026— doreen garfield (@doreen garfield) 1631196663
WHAT. This man is a foolhttps://twitter.com/salon/status/1435770388273942531\u00a0\u2026— mary (@mary) 1631195229
Pinocchio is at it again.https://twitter.com/salon/status/1435770388273942531\u00a0\u2026— MamaLiz (@MamaLiz) 1631167303
OMG - can this man get through an hour without lying-why people keep supporting this moron is just so pathetic!!https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1435434340935249922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1435434340935249922%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Ftrump-9-11-firemen%2F\u00a0\u2026— Linda4Equality (@Linda4Equality) 1631195532
Ooo look, just in time for the 20th remembrance of 9/11... trump's fish story gets even bigger. Here's a whole new lie added to the one he's been telling for years!\n#TrumpIsALaughingStockhttps://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1435434340935249922\u00a0\u2026— Liberty*And*Justice*For*All (@Liberty*And*Justice*For*All) 1631164213
For him, 9/11, like everything else, is a chance to invent stories in which to cast himself as a hero.https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1435800228758704128\u00a0\u2026— Ed Drury (@Ed Drury) 1631157541
I\u2019d suppose he\u2019s the kinda guy who doesn\u2019t even remember where he was when his city went to pieces cause he was in one of his buildings doing whatever guys like this do when they\u2019re bored rich and evilhttps://twitter.com/huffpost/status/1435869675091599364\u00a0\u2026— Bailey Hughes (@Bailey Hughes) 1631173376
Now he was rescued from 9/11? After he said "now I have the largest building in NYC". Trump spins new 9/11 tale about 'two big firemen' pulling him to safety after he 'heard creaks'https://www.rawstory.com/trump-9-11-firemen/\u00a0\u2026— Jbaby56 (@Jbaby56) 1631194052
More self promoting fairy tales from your favorite PRESIDENT, you tRumptards... DAMN he's such a HERO... when out of his bunker...\n\nTrump spins new 9/11 tale about 'two big firemen' pulling him to safety after he 'heard creaks'https://www.rawstory.com/trump-9-11-firemen/\u00a0\u2026— critical_observer (@critical_observer) 1631195243
Trump never mentioned his story about being saved by firemen until now. It's just the latest addition to a long history of lying about September 11.
On the day of the attacks, September 11, 2001, Trump—then just a New York real estate developer with several bankruptcies already—called into a New York news broadcast as the station aired footage of the World Trade Center attacks. Trump used the opportunity to brag his property at 40 Wall Street would now become the tallest building in the area.
Speaking to WWOR co-anchor Brenda Blackmon at the time, Trump said:
"40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually, before the World Trade Center, was the tallest—and then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second-tallest."
"And now it's the tallest."
That claim turned out to be false.
According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, 70 Pine Street, at 952 feet, became the tallest building in the area after September 11.
Trump's building at 40 Wall Street is 927 feet tall, 25 feet shorter than 70 Pine Street
In 2015, Trump—in one of the most widely circulated stories from his presidential campaign—claimed he'd seen "thousands and thousands" of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the attacks.
Speaking at a rally in Alabama, he said:
"I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down."
"And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down."
"Thousands of people were cheering."
Fact checks from Politifact, The Washington Post, The New York Times and FactCheck.org, have debunked this claim entirely.
Trump has also made numerous false claims about helping at Ground Zero and making monetary contributions.
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