Trump accused of 'stolen valour' over history of claims he was near Ground Zero at 9/11 | CBC News
Trump's statements about 9/11 aftermath activities picked up when he entered political arena
U.S. President Donald Trump this week recounted an incident in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in downtown Manhattan that was long on descriptive detail but not easily verified.
"The United States Steel building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down because it creaked a lot. It creaked. It still creaks. But it never came down," Trump said.
Trump offered a somewhat similar description of the incident on the presidential campaign trail in New Hampshire in early 2016, though he stressed he wasn't inside the building.
As well, between the immediate aftermath of the attacks and when Trump launched his first presidential campaign — a period of about 13 years spanning many media interviews and news conferences — he made few such claims.
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As a result, Trump has been accused by some liberal commentators, as well as former Republican congressman (now an anti-MAGA pundit) Joe Walsh of "stolen valour," the term usually used for ex-military who exaggerate their service careers.
"This solemn day is not about Trump. It never was, and it never will be," Crowe said on social media. "Our president is a small and sick man to make a day of remembrance and service about himself."
During the 2015-16 presidential campaign, Trump received pushback for claiming that "thousands and thousands of people were cheering" the attacks at an unspecified setting in New Jersey, including a "heavy Arab population."
What is known is that on Sept. 13, 2001, Trump told a reporter from Germany's Deutsche Welle near Ground Zero that, "I have a lot of men down here right now, we have over 100 or we have about 125 coming, so we'll have a couple of hundred people down here."
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- Trump's statements about 9/11 aftermath activities picked up when he entered political arena
- U.S. President Donald Trump this week recounted an incident in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in downtown Manhattan that was long on descriptive detail but not easily verified.
- "The United States Steel building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down because it creaked a lot. It creaked. It still creaks. But it never came down," Trump said.
- Trump offered a somewhat similar description of the incident on the presidential campaign trail in New Hampshire in early 2016, though he stressed he wasn't inside the building.
- As well, between the immediate aftermath of the attacks and when Trump launched his first presidential campaign — a period of about 13 years spanning many media interviews and news conferences — he made few such claims.