Senator Ted Cruz defended President Donald Trump’s disputed account of his experience on September 11, saying the terror attacks were a “traumatic experience” for everyone and expressing trust in the president’s retelling during a CNN interview on Tuesday evening.
On “The Source” with host Kaitlan Collins, Cruz was asked about Trump’s claim, made earlier that day at a Tunnel to Towers Foundation event on the White House Ellipse, that two firefighters physically lifted him up and carried him away from One Liberty Plaza — formerly the U.S. Steel Building — when the structure appeared in danger of collapse near Ground Zero.
Trump said in his account that the firefighters “grabbed me under the arm” and “literally lifted me up” and “started running with me” because they feared the building would come down.
When Collins pressed Cruz on whether Trump was exaggerating his role, Cruz responded: “September 11th was 25 years ago, it was a horrific moment for our entire country, and you could doubt whatever you want about Donald Trump, but the man is a New Yorker, he loves New York, and I have every doubt that what he’s conveying there is what he experienced.” Cruz then shared his own memory of the day, noting he was in Washington, D.C., less than a mile from the Pentagon.
Trump’s 9/11 account, however, has faced repeated fact-checking scrutiny. According to PBS NewsHour’s PolitiFact analysis, there is no public evidence establishing that Trump was inside One Liberty Plaza when the incident he described allegedly occurred. The building’s structural concerns are documented — a Federal Reserve Bank of New York history page notes that employees were forced to evacuate the Fed building on September 12 due to concerns that One Liberty Plaza might collapse — but no account specifically places Trump there.
Trump has long claimed involvement in 9/11 recovery efforts. In interviews on September 13, 2001, he said he had brought over 100 construction workers to help at the site. However, PolitiFact found no evidence supporting that claim, citing a 2019 statement from Richard Alles, a former New York Fire Department battalion chief at the time, who told the fact-checking organization: “There would be a record of it. Everybody worked under direct supervision of the police and fire department. 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.”
The earliest documented video or photo of Trump near Ground Zero is from September 13, 2001, when he gave interviews to German television and spoke with the press, claiming he had workers assisting in recovery. The extent of his actual involvement remains unclear and contested by fact-checkers and observers who were present at the site.
Cruz’s defense of Trump comes as the president marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks with appearances at multiple commemorative events. Trump is attending a ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, rather than the main 9/11 Memorial and Museum event in New York, which has barred politicians from speaking since 2012.
Sources
- Mediaite — Cruz’s full CNN interview with Collins defending Trump’s 9/11 account and calling it a “traumatic experience”
- PBS NewsHour — Comprehensive fact-check of Trump’s 9/11 claims, including the firefighter rescue account and claims about deploying workers to Ground Zero
- Washington Post — Report on Trump’s disputed account of his role in 9/11 recovery efforts at the Steel Across America memorial event
- NBC News — Coverage of Trump’s claim that firefighters carried him to safety near Ground Zero
