Donald Trump's 9/11 Firefighter Story Sparks Outrage From Critics After Ground Zero Claim

President Donald Trump’s latest retelling of his experience after 9/11 has put one of his longest-running personal narratives back under scrutiny.

At an event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Trump said two firefighters once grabbed him near the former U.S. Steel Building close to Ground Zero because they feared the building could collapse.

“They literally lifted me up,” Trump said. “This is not easy to do. I’m big. They lifted me up, and they started running with me.”

The remark drew attention because Trump did not clearly say when the alleged incident happened. He later wrote on Truth Social that he was not at the World Trade Center “on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter,” adding, “Everything I said was exactly accurate.” He also shared a news clip of him from the time.

Trump has told versions of the firefighter story before, and has made a variety of other claims about 9/11, including that he watched the second plane hit from his Midtown apartment and that he went to Ground Zero the following day with construction workers.

Trump was reportedly in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue when the attacks happened. There is no public evidence showing Trump went to the former U.S. Steel Building or was rushed out of harm’s way by firefighters.

Asked about the timeline, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump “was relaying his experience of a city reeling immediately after and in the days and weeks after the horrific attacks.”

“When someone makes a dramatic personal claim tied to something as emotional and historically significant as 9/11, people are going to react immediately,” said Cole Goldberg, who earlier this year was acquitted of murder and other charges related to a boating incident with TV personality Caroline Schwitzky at the 2022 Boca Bash.

“Social media only accelerates it,” he said. “The original clip spreads, then the outrage starts, the fact-checking comes in, people respond to that, and suddenly the controversy takes on a life of its own.”

Trump has repeatedly described his proximity to the attacks and his actions afterward. In 2015, he claimed he saw people jump from the towers from his apartment. That same year, he also claimed he saw “thousands” of people cheering in New Jersey as the towers fell, a claim that has been repeatedly debunked.

Goldberg said that once the reaction chain begins, the original statement can become only one piece of the story.

“Every new reaction gives people another reason to keep sharing and talking about it,” he explained. “At a certain point, people aren’t even reacting to the original comment anymore. They’re reacting to everyone else’s reaction to it."