Kathrine Frich
The nephew rejected several of Trump’s claims
When national tragedies occur, politicians often share their memories of the crisis.
These stories usually highlight community strength or bravery.
But sometimes, those dramatic personal accounts face sudden pushback.
Bold rescue claims
Former President Donald Trump recently shared a dramatic story about his experience following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Speaking at a Tunnel to Towers Foundation event cited by LADbible, he described a tense escape from the United States Steel building.
“The United States Steel building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down,” Trump told the crowd.
He claimed two large rescue workers physically carried him to safety. “They grabbed me under the arms, said, ‘Got to get out of here,'” Trump explained.
He added: “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.”
Family pushes back
The dramatic tale quickly drew public attention. Soon after, a direct response came from inside the Trump family tree.
Fred Trump III, the 63-year-old nephew of the politician, took to social media to dispute the account completely.
He focused heavily on a claim about Ground Zero, where Trump stated he brought a construction crew to help.
“I try not to comment personally about my uncle, but his claim that he brought a crew of workers to help at the site so offends me that I need to speak out,” his nephew wrote on X.
Questioning the crew
Fred Trump III stated that his uncle did not have an active construction team available at that time.
“He was not building a ‘big building’ at the time,” the nephew clarified in his online post.
He explained that the only available staff would have been office workers from Trump Tower, noting they were not physically equipped for disaster recovery work.
The nephew also rejected the idea that the US Steel building was collapsing, citing an engineer who cleared the tower for occupancy.
Defending the timeline
Following the public backlash, Trump defended his statements on his Truth Social platform.
“I was there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers,” Trump posted.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle also weighed in. He stated the politician was just “relaying his experience of a city reeling immediately after and in the days and weeks after the horrific attacks”.
Sources: LADbible, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, X, Truth Social, New York Magazine
