White House issues response after Trump slammed for lying about what happened to him on 9/11
The Trump administration has issued a strong response to media who accused him of 'lying' when speaking about his involvement with the events of 9/11.
The president made some eye-brow raising remarks during a September 8 event on the White House Ellipse, honouring 9/11 emergency responders and volunteer firefighters as the 25th anniversary of the devastating terrorist attack approaches.
According to Trump, two firefighters grabbed him and lifted him off the ground, telling the crowd that nearby One Liberty Plaza, then know as the U.S. Steel Building, began to creak as though it might collapse when he was at the site on September 11, 2001.
Many media outlets fact checked his versions of events, including the New York Magazine, pointing out there was no evidence Trump was at the World Trade Center site on the day of the attacks.
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Now, White House Press officer Davis Ingle has fired back, defending the president.
'Another reason why Americans’ trust in the media is at an all-time low'
He said: "President Trump spent the morning paying tribute to the heroic first responders who laid down their lives in service to others in the September 11th attacks and honoring their incredible families.
"The President was relaying his experience of a city reeling immediately after and in the days and weeks after the horrific attacks - and the fact that the failing legacy media is using this to try to attack him is a disgrace and yet another reason why Americans’ trust in the media is at an all-time low.”
Donald Trump's claims of what happened to him on the day of 9/11
Speaking at the event honouring the 9/11 hero, 'man in a red bandana' Welles Crowther, Trump spoke about his 'memories' of September 11, 2001.
He told the crowd on Tuesday: "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. This is not easy to do.
"I'm big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, 'Fellas, I can run myself,' but they were amazing. But they thought it was coming down. It didn't come down."
'Everything I said was exactly accurate'
Despite the claims being fact checked and questioned by several sources, Trump responded on Truth Social, insisting his accounts was accurate, though he clarified he wasn't there 'on the same day as the collapse' but 'shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction workers.'
He said in the post: "Everything I said was exactly accurate and, to prove the point, I am attaching clips of me there with numerous of my people, including my then Head of Security, Matthew Calamari, who has confirmed that very sad trip to Lower Manhattan, many times, to many different Journalists, but it’s a story that just won’t die.
"The Fake News doesn’t want to listen, even when they know their story is false. That’s why their approval ratings are at an All Time LOW, but mine are VERY HIGH!".
Thomas Bamford