Trump jokes 9/11 hero has become ‘more famous than me’ as massive Twin Towers relic arrives at White House

Trump joined approximately 150 first responders from New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on the Ellipse, where the World Trade Center beam formed the centerpiece of a ceremony remembering those killed on September 11, 2001. The 21-foot relic was recovered from the wreckage of the South Tower and weighs nearly 17,000 pounds. Photographs captured Trump standing beside the weathered steel, providing a dramatic sense of its enormous scale. “This battered piece of steel here today on the Ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer, and no terror can destroy,” Trump said.

The Ellipse itself was transformed for the commemoration. Images of first responders who lost their lives as a result of the attacks surrounded the event, while firefighters, police officers and victims' families gathered around the enormous steel relic. The ceremony came three days before the 25th anniversary of an attack that killed 2,977 people. Among those who died were 343 FDNY firefighters, 23 NYPD officers and 37 Port Authority police officers.

The beam's appearance in Washington came near the end of an extraordinary four-month journey across America. Tunnel to Towers launched Steel Across America near Ground Zero on May 2, carrying the authentic World Trade Center steel through communities around the country to commemorate 25 years since the attacks. The tour covered more than 10,500 miles, making more than 35 stops across 21 states and Washington, DC. Stops included the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, Space Center Houston, the USS Alabama and Mount Rushmore. Washington was among the final destinations before the steel's planned return to Lower Manhattan for September 11.

Trump then shifted attention from the towering relic to the story of one individual whose actions inside the South Tower became one of the most enduring tales of heroism from September 11. The president posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, to Welles Remy Crowther. Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader who had also served as a volunteer firefighter, was working on the 104th floor of the South Tower when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the building. He made his way down to the 78th-floor sky lobby and repeatedly helped injured and trapped people toward safety. Survivors recalled a man whose face was partially covered by a red bandana as he directed people toward a working staircase and returned to help others. Crowther never made it out of the tower. He died when the South Tower collapsed. Crowther's mother, Alison, and sister, Paige, attended the ceremony, with Alison accepting the medal on her son's behalf.

As he recounted Crowther's actions, Trump acknowledged how famous the story of the young volunteer firefighter has become. “The man in the red bandana has become more famous than me,” Trump remarked during the ceremony, before joking, “I don't like it.”