Fact Check: Did Trump slam 9/11 memorial because he wasn't allowed to speak at the ceremony?
WASHINGTON, DC: Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the devastating 9/11 attacks, an allegation is circulating on social media platforms claiming that President Donald Trump attacked the 9/11 memorial in a social media post, citing that he was not allowed to speak at the ceremony. The claim has triggered criticism and calls for a fact-check.
Claim: Donald Trump slammed the September 11 Memorial
The claim surfaced as a screenshot, claiming to show a post by the president on his official Truth Social handle.
The alleged post read, “The National September 11 Memorial and Museum commission decided I'm not allowed to speak at the remembrance. Imagine that? A native new Yorker."
"The greatest president in history. We're looking into shutting them down permanently, remove the memorial and building a statue of me as tall as the World Trade Center."
"Not to brag or anything, but I single-handedly saved 500 thousand people in those burning buildings. I ran 110 floors at least 50 times within 30 minutes, pulling people out of tight spaces. I almost died. DJT”
While many slammed Trump for the alleged post, few others remained skeptical and questioned its authenticity.
Fact Check: Donald Trump made no such post
The screenshot is fake and fabricated, as Trump made no such post against the 9/11 memorial on any of his official social media handles.
A search on the president's Truth Social and other social media handles such as X and Facebook for the post yielded no results that match the text in the viral screenshot.
A Google search for reports on the supposed post being possibly deleted returned no credible reports by prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would not go unreported. Hence, the claim is rated as fake, likely intended as satire.
Donald Trump barred from speaking at 9/11 ceremony
The screenshot surfaced after reports indicated that Trump is not expected to attend the annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City this year but is now expected to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the tragic attacks at the Pentagon.
Though Trump expressed interest in speaking at the event in New York, the request was declined as elected officials have been barred from speaking at the Ground Zero ceremony since 2012.
According to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, the policy is part of an effort to keep the ceremony completely nonpartisan and centered only on the family members of the victims.
