A quarter-century after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States prepares to remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives. This anniversary also highlights former President Donald Trump’s history of public comments about the attacks. These include tributes, recollections of what he witnessed, and claims about his actions near Ground Zero, some of which have been challenged.
On September 11, 2025, Trump attended a remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon. During his speech, he described the attacks as an encounter with “pure evil.” He promised that the victims would not be forgotten. “On that fateful day, savage monsters attacked the very symbols of our civilization,” Trump declared. “Yet here in Virginia, New York, and the skies over Pennsylvania, Americans did not hesitate. They stood on their feet, and they showed the world that we will never yield, we will never bend, we will never give up, and our great American flag will never, ever fail.” He concluded with a warning to any future attackers, “If you attack the United States of America, we will hunt you down and we will find you. We will crush you without mercy, and we will triumph without question.”
Before the upcoming 25th anniversary in 2026, Trump denied a report suggesting that he chose to attend the Pentagon ceremony instead of the event at Ground Zero because he was not allowed to speak. “I’ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it’s a ‘solemn ceremony,'” Trump noted on Truth Social. “I would love not to speak because I’m speaking all the time, and this is a day to remember the victims, and their beautiful family members.”
On a recent Tuesday, Trump spoke at a Steel Across America event near the White House. “On 9/11, nearly 3,000 precious souls were stolen from us,” he said. “We gather on another Tuesday morning in September to reaffirm the sacred vow we made a quarter of a century ago: we will never forget.” He added that he had taken workers to Lower Manhattan after the attacks. “I was building a big building in New York, and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened,” he mentioned. Trump described an incident near One Liberty Plaza and said two firefighters carried him away as they feared a collapse. “They grab me under the arms. They lifted me up. This is not easy to do. They lifted me up and started running. I said, ‘Fellas, I can run myself.’ But they were amazing.”
In response to scrutiny of his account, Trump clarified on Truth Social that he was “obviously not” at the World Trade Center on the day the towers fell. However, he stated he went there “shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers.” He added, “Everything I said was exactly accurate.”
On the day of the attack, Trump was in New York City at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, where he watched everything unfold. He told Howard Stern in 2002, “I saw the whole thing. Specifically, I have two windows that are focused on the building.” At a campaign event in 2015 in Ohio, Trump reiterated his vantage point, “I have a window in my apartment that specifically was aimed at the World Trade Center, because of the beauty of the whole downtown Manhattan. And I watched as people jumped, and I watched the second plane come in. Many people jumped, and I witnessed that.”
Trump’s first comments about the attacks came hours after they happened. He participated in a live phone interview on local television. During the interview, he mentioned what he might have done if he had won the 2000 presidential bid. “I’d be taking a very, very tough line,” Trump stated to WWOR. “Most people feel they know at least approximately the group of people that did this and where they are. You have to take a hard line on this. This just can’t be tolerated.” He also mentioned his building at 40 Wall Street, boasting it was “the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan.”
Alan Marcus, working for WWOR on that day, noted that Trump habitually promoted his brand, even during such crises. “He is the brand manager of Trump, and he is going to tout that brand,” Marcus told Politico in 2016.
Trump was seen at Ground Zero two days post-attack. A 2001 Washington Post article described him as “every hair in place and impeccably dressed in a black suit, pressed white shirt and red tie, walking into the plaza with his cellular phone to his ear.” In an interview with a German television station, he described the devastation at the site. “I’ve never seen anything like it—the devastation, the human life that’s been just wasted for no reason whatsoever,” Trump expressed. He praised New Yorkers’ resilience, believing they would rebuild quickly.
Trump claimed to have hired “a couple of hundred” workers to aid rescue efforts and mentioned his teams would help in reconstruction. Trump consistently repeated these claims in subsequent years despite investigations failing to verify this. He often suggested he was at the forefront of cleanup efforts. During a 2016 campaign event in Buffalo, New York, he praised the workers clearing rubble, “Everyone who helped clear the rubble—and I was there, and I watched, and I helped a little bit—but I want to tell you: Those people were amazing.”
Trump frequently referenced 9/11 during his presidential run. In a debate, he defended “New York values” against Senator Ted Cruz’s comments. He recalled the prolonged impact of the attacks, “It was with us for months, the smell, and everybody in the world loved New York, loved New Yorkers.” He criticized former President George W. Bush, stating the attacks happened during his presidency. Trump claimed he would have captured Osama bin Laden earlier if he had been president.
Trump also recounted seeing “thousands and thousands” of Muslims cheering after the attacks. “I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down,” Trump said at an Alabama rally. “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.” These statements stirred controversy.
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