Trump Says Firefighters 'Lifted Me Up' and Ran From Building They Feared Would Collapse After 9/11

Donald Trump has offered a dramatic recollection of the September 11 attacks, describing how two firefighters, he claims, lifted him off the ground and ran with him as they feared a nearby building was about to collapse.

The former US president also claimed he watched the second plane strike the World Trade Center from an apartment in Midtown Manhattan and went to Ground Zero the following day with construction workers. His account has drawn renewed scrutiny because of disputed claims he has made regarding his presence and activities after the attacks.

Trump Says Firefighters Carried Him From 9/11 Chaos

Speaking about the attacks, Trump recalled taking construction workers from his New York projects to the disaster site shortly afterwards, saying they went down as a large group despite having little they could do amid the destruction.

He described the scene as unprecedented and said another nearby building—which he identified as the US Steel Building [One Liberty Plaza]—was creaking so heavily that people feared it could collapse. Trump then recalled two firefighters intervening because they believed the building was coming down.

'And I'll never forget two firemen,' he said. 'We thought it was coming down on top of us and two firemen, big, strong guys—and I'm not the smallest guy in the world—they grabbed me under the arm and said, "Got to get out of here." And they literally lifted me up. This is not easy to do.'

Trump said the firefighters began running while carrying him, adding that he told them he could run himself. He praised the pair as 'amazing' and said they believed the building was about to collapse, although it ultimately did not.

Trump Recalls Watching the Second Plane Hit

Trump also described watching the attacks unfold on television and from an apartment overlooking the World Trade Center. He said he initially struggled to understand what had happened when reports emerged about a fire at the towers.

He recalled seeing the second plane approach and said he immediately understood that the situation was far more serious than an accident. Trump said the moment made him realise that the world had entered 'a different phase'.

He said he travelled to the site the following day with construction workers from one of his New York projects, where he claimed they 'worked long and hard' amid what he described as a terrible and hopeless scene.

In 2016, Trump said he helped clear the rubble, according to contemporaneous press reports. In 2019, the POTUS claimed at a White House ceremony that he had spent significant time at Ground Zero alongside firefighters, police officers and other first responders after 9/11.

'I was down there also, but I'm not considering myself a first responder. But I was down there. I spent a lot of time down there with you,' Trump said.

Critics Question Trump's 9/11 Recollections

The remarks quickly prompted criticism online, with several social media users accusing Trump of embellishing his role in the aftermath of the attacks. Journalist Aaron Rupar also reacted to the claims, writing: 'Trump's 9/11 lies are getting outlandish.'

Other users argued that the comments were particularly offensive because they came as Americans were preparing to commemorate those killed in the attacks.

Some questioned whether there was evidence supporting Trump's account of being carried from danger by firefighters, while others mocked the dramatic nature of his recollection.

The criticism reflects the wider controversy surrounding Trump's descriptions of 9/11, with sceptics arguing that several of his accounts are difficult to reconcile with available evidence. His supporters, meanwhile, have continued to frame his recollections as personal memories of one of the darkest days in New York's history.

The September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, including 343 New York City firefighters, and their impact continues to shape the lives of survivors, first responders and victims' families.