President Donald Trump honored 9/11 heroes and first responders at a White House memorial on the Ellipse on September 8, 2026, where he recounted a disputed account of firefighters rescuing him from Ground Zero during the attacks 25 years ago.
At the event, held ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter known as the “Man in the Red Bandana” for guiding survivors to safety inside the South Tower. According to the White House, Crowther made multiple trips to the 78th floor and is credited with saving an estimated 18 people before he died in the collapse.
Trump also announced that the U.S. Coast Guard will commission a new Fast Response Cutter in memory of FDNY firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo, one of the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11. Palazzo was a member of Rescue Squad 5 and a Coast Guard reservist.
During the event, Trump recounted what he described as a harrowing moment when two firefighters rescued him from near Ground Zero. “We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big strong guys — I’m not the smallest guy in the world — they grabbed me under the arm, said, ‘Got to get out of here,’ and they literally lifted me up,” Trump said, according to remarks captured by PBS NewsHour and other outlets. “They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, ‘Fellas, I can run myself,’ but they were amazing.”
Trump’s account has drawn scrutiny from fact-checkers and former emergency responders. According to PolitiFact, Trump said the building he feared was collapsing was One Liberty Plaza, formerly the U.S. Steel Building. While the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has documented that employees were forced to evacuate that building on September 12 due to collapse concerns, there is no independent verification that Trump was present at that location when the evacuation occurred.
Richard Alles, who was an FDNY battalion chief at the time of the attacks, told PolitiFact in 2019 that he had no knowledge of Trump being at Ground Zero or bringing workers to help. “There would be a record of it,” Alles said. “Everybody worked under direct supervision of the police and fire department and the joint commander for emergency services. Is there a chance he was ever down there by himself and I didn’t know it? It’s possible, but I know of no one who ever witnessed him there.”
Trump has long discussed his 9/11 response, saying he spent significant time at Ground Zero and brought construction workers to aid in recovery efforts. In interviews on September 13, 2001, two days after the attacks, he told German television station N24 that he had “over 100” workers at the site with “about 125 coming.” However, PolitiFact found no evidence that he brought hundreds of workers or was directly involved in cleanup efforts over time. Trump’s Trump World Tower was under development in Midtown Manhattan, approximately 5 miles from the World Trade Center.
The White House referred questions about the extent of Trump’s involvement to the Trump Organization, which did not respond to requests for comment, according to PolitiFact.
Trump is not attending the main 9/11 commemoration ceremony in New York on September 11, instead planning to observe the 25th anniversary at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Vice President JD Vance will attend the New York event, while other administration officials will visit the Flight 93 National Memorial site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Sources
- The White House — official statement on Trump’s 9/11 memorial event, Medal of Freedom award to Welles Crowther, and Coast Guard cutter announcement
- PolitiFact — fact-checking of Trump’s 9/11 response claims, including interviews with FDNY battalion chief Richard Alles and documentation of building evacuation concerns
- PBS NewsHour — video and transcript of Trump’s remarks at the White House Ellipse event, including his account of firefighters rescuing him
- People magazine — reporting on Trump’s new claim about being rescued by two firefighters
- The New York Times — reporting on Trump’s decision to skip the New York 9/11 ceremony and attend the Pentagon event instead
