WATCH: What Trump told reporters near Ground Zero in 2001
PBS News Hour – Politics — 2026-09-10 13:12:00 — www.pbs.org
Trump’s Claims About 9/11 Response Face Scrutiny from Fact-Checkers
In the days following the September 11 attacks, Donald Trump told reporters near Ground Zero that he was there to check on his construction crew. In archival footage from September 13, 2001, Trump described the devastation: “It’s just terrible. I can’t get anywhere. Something I’ve never seen before. And dangerous. We have a lot of buildings still in a form of collapse, so it’s very dangerous and it’s tough.”
At the time, Trump said he had about 100 workers helping to dig out rubble at the World Trade Center, with another 100 to 150 “coming.” Years later, as president, Trump repeated this story at a 9/11 tribute event, stating, “I was building a big building in New York and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened and they had no hesitation. Everybody went down with me. We went down as a big group of people. It wasn’t too much we could do, I’ll be honest. It was raw. Nobody’s seen anything like it ever.”
However, these claims have been repeatedly scrutinized. PolitiFact fact-checked Trump’s statements and was unable to verify that he brought hundreds of workers to assist with “digging out” at Ground Zero. The NewsHour footage from 2001 does not show any Trump construction crew present at the site.
Despite the lack of evidence, Trump has continued to share this story over the years, positioning himself as a hands-on participant in the recovery efforts. When asked about rebuilding, Trump said, “You can do anything nowadays with the right money and the right talent,” expressing confidence that New York would recover, though “maybe not the same form, but in some form.”
Conclusion
Donald Trump’s repeated claims about sending large crews to help at Ground Zero after 9/11 have not been substantiated by available evidence or independent fact-checks. While Trump has consistently portrayed himself as actively involved in the aftermath, archival footage and reporting do not support the scale of his involvement as described. This pattern highlights the importance of verifying public figures’ statements, especially regarding significant national events.
Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-what-trump-told-reporters-near-ground-zero-in-2001