Today marks the 16th anniversary of September 11, 2001, the day that nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives when three planes were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon under the direction of Osama bin Laden. Today also marks the first time that Donald Trump has ever addressed the nation as the commander-in-chief.
Accompanied by Melania Trump at the White House, the president first observed a moment a silence in remembrance of those who lost their lives. Donald Trump then headed to the Pentagon to observe another moment of silence and give an encouraging speech, according to Fox News. All in all, Donald Trump demonstrated respect for victims and attempted to encourage the nation just as every president who has held the office since that day has done.
That said, Donald Trump just can’t seem to escape his past. Today, HuffPost published an article that compiled every statement on 9/11 that Donald Trump has made since that fateful day. The comments, as you can probably guess, do not paint him in the most favorable light. Although many of them have garnered criticism, an audio clip (below) of Donald Trump calling into a New York news station on the day of the attacks has gained the most.
“You have one of the landmark buildings down in the financial district, 40 Wallstreet. Did you have any damage, what’s happened down there?” asked the reporter.
“Well, it was an amazing phone call I made,” he said. “40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually, before the World Trade Center, was the tallest, and then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second-tallest, and now it’s the tallest.”
Instead of answering the reporter’s question or being mindful of the enormous loss of life, Donald Trump went on a tangent about how he now had the tallest building again since the towers had fallen. Needless to say, that particular clip, uploaded to Twitter in 2016, has received a great deal of attention. Some users expressed their disappointment that Donald Trump would make such a self-serving statement.
Twitter user @gmknowles wrote, “Trumpism: Sentence where @ realDonaldTrump makes horrid event all about him.”
@MakoloManso wrote, “All he cared about was his building becoming the tallest in # .”Manhattan # Trump # DonaldTrump.”
“ @ JennyPentland Repeat: he said this on the *actual* 9/11. ON 9/11!!!,” said @JD_Meadows.
User @1lolamariana wrote, prior to the 2016 election, “He’s one selfish sub-human. If he ever gets to win the election, I will lose my faith in humanity.”
It should be noted that Trump’s statement wasn’t even true. HuffPost completely debunked that claim, noting that Trump’s building was still 25 feet shorter than 70 Pine at the time of the attack.
You can check out Donald Trump’s comments below.
Trump interview on 9/11: “[My building] was the 2nd-tallest in Manhattan… And now it’s the tallest.” #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/47WUsSKLRu
— Ess (@ScottyLiterati) September 11, 2016
What do you think about Donald Trump’s old 9/11 comments? Do you think that they were insensitive? Do you think that it’s wrong to bring them up again? You can sound off in the comment section below.
[Featured Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
