Cruz defends Trump’s 9/11 claims, says he has ‘every doubt’ Trump experienced what he described

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Ted Cruz on Tuesday, September 8, defended President Donald Trump’s account of his experience following the September 11, 2001 attacks after CNN’s Kaitlan Collins questioned whether Trump had “exaggerated” his role in the aftermath.

Trump had described being lifted and carried by two firefighters near the US Steel Building shortly after the attacks, while later clarifying that he was not at the World Trade Center on the same day as the collapse. Cruz said he had “every doubt” that Trump was accurately conveying what he experienced during a traumatic period for New York and the country.

Ted Cruz defends Trump’s account after Collins questions firefighter story

During an interview with Collins, Cruz was asked about Trump’s account of the 9/11 aftermath and whether it was appropriate for the president to describe his role in a way that could suggest he had been directly involved in the rescue effort.

“September 11th was 25 years ago. It was a horrific moment for our entire country, and you can 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, and that was a traumatic experience for all of us,” Cruz said.

Collins then asked Cruz if Trump had “exaggerated” his role in the aftermath. However, Cruz did not directly address Trump's role; he instead described his own experience in Washington on the day of the tragic attacks and emphasized the impact the attacks had on people who lived through them.

“Look, I think when you're sharing your feelings, your sentiments, I remember I was in DC on 9/11,” Cruz said. He recalled that his wife, Heidi, "was in the White House, and she was evacuated."

Cruz said she was unable to retrieve her car and walked home across Memorial Bridge. "I mean, that was, look, for everyone who lived through that, you could smell the smoke... you know, that was a moment 25 years ago that changed our country," Cruz said. 

Trump has offered multiple accounts of what he saw after 9/11

Trump on Tuesday also spoke at an event ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and described being carried away by two firefighters. “I’ll never forget two firemen; 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, said, ‘Got to get out of here,’” Trump said.

“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,” he added.

Trump later clarified in a post on Truth Social that he was not at the World Trade Center “on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter,” while attaching clips of him at the World Trade Center site and insisting, “Everything I said was exactly accurate.”

Trump has previously described watching the second plane hit the South Tower and said he went to Ground Zero the following day with construction workers.