Stolen 9/11 Valor: Trump Tries To Make It All About Himself Again

The sole bright spot that came out of one of America’s darkest days was the valor that so many regular people displayed on 9/11, especially at Ground Zero, where firefighters and other first responders ran toward danger instead of away from it. Both on that day and in the years since then, hundreds of them paid for their bravery with their lives while thousands of others are still suffering from adverse health effects because they had the courage to act.

Each and every one of them deserve our gratitude and serve as an example of true, unflinching, and selfless heroism in the face of unspeakable horror and tragedy.

By all accounts, Donald Trump wasn’t one of those who risked his own life to help others.

That’s no knock on him. He was a 55-year-old, somewhat doughy real estate mogul, so there was really nothing for him to do at Ground Zero other than impede the efforts of those better equipped to help.

Of course, when we say “by all accounts,” then we mean reliable contemporaneous sources.

Because, according to Trump’s own (and constantly evolving) version of events, he deserves a lot of praise.

On Tuesday, the president managed to make an event, which was meant to honor those first responders and other victims, about his own accomplishment and the role he claims to have played on 9/11.

Trump said that he “took the whole crew [from one of his construction sites] down there right after this happened,” and then recounted how two firemen grabbed him, lifted him up, and carried him away from danger.

While the president is on tape talking about visiting his workers a couple of days after the attack, there is no evidence to back up his account. In fact, there is reason to doubt that he sent anybody down there to help.

It’s not the only tall tale Trump told with regard to 9/11 and his involvement.

For example, he never followed through on his promise to donate $10,000 to the Twin Towers Fund, and he apparently made up the story of observing Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the attack.

Speaking of tall, though, Trump famously and incorrectly remarked shortly after both World Trade Center buildings collapsed that he now owned the tallest building in New York.

Obviously, the president lying about anything and everything is nothing new.

However, there is something particularly disturbing about him trying to embellish/reinvent/lie about his role on 9/11 – especially at an event commemorating real heroes – especially because the world witnessed so many acts of bravery on that day.

Quite frankly, it’s offensive, and it’s telling that the same people who don’t want New York’s Muslim Mayor Zohran Mamdani to attend a memorial service on Friday (the one Trump is reportedly skipping because he isn’t allowed to make a speech) have nothing to say about the president’s stolen 9/11 valor.