This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated September 6, 2019
After walking a few miles south, we merged onto the Manhattan Bridge with stone-faced people from lower Manhattan. A woman covered in soot emerged, resembling an actual stone figure.
As we ascended, a man pulled out a typical New York souvenir and announced, “Get your Twin Towers statues!”
It was despicable, but nobody acknowledged him. Though thousands of us silently ambled past, I’m certain none of us have forgotten that one person trying to take advantage of the tragedy of 9/11.
Around the same time, Donald Trump was being interviewed on WWOR-TV. He bragged about his lower Manhattan property, saying, “and now it’s the tallest.” Nobody else had mentioned this because (a) it wasn’t true, and (b) normal people weren’t contemplating which building was now the biggest and best.
"Forty Wall Street…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."
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 11, 2020
Trump speaking, on 9/11!, about a NYC building of his:pic.twitter.com/MXNrv6fz1a
Five weeks ago, President Trump hosted a White House ceremony for the reauthorization of the Victim Compensation Fund. Before 60 first responders, he said, “I was down there also, but I’m not considering myself a first responder.” In 2016, speaking of those who cleared rubble and searched for survivors, he claimed, “I helped a little bit.”
Trump to 9/11 first responders: "I was down there also [at Ground Zero], but I'm not considering myself a first responder…I spent a lot of time down there with you." (via @MSNBC)
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) July 29, 2019
This is a lie. He also pledged $10,000 to a 9/11 Fund and never paid. https://t.co/B9Zztr9sny pic.twitter.com/yoKae10XYp
People who were there, like FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Alles, who attended the White House ceremony in July, have stated they know private citizen Donald Trump was not at Ground Zero.
Donald Trump lies. A lot. But lying about 9/11 is truly abhorrent.
Here’s video of @realDonaldTrump claiming he helped look for survivors & clear rubble on 9/11. He didn't. He was lying. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/gvc3MsbaJZ
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) September 11, 2018
He took $150K from a program for small businesses hurt by 9/11, despite publicly saying none of his properties sustained damaged. He later claimed it was reimbursement for charitable work, but an aide to former-Governor Pataki confirmed the program didn’t reimburse for that and records show funds were requested for cleanup and repair.
Trump said he donated $10K to the 9/11 fund, but the Comptroller’s office verified no such donation was made. There are only records of $1K to a Scientology program for first responder treatments and $100K to the 9/11 Museum during the 2016 campaign from his Trump Foundation, which is funded with other’s donations.
He contends that from his apartment window he witnessed people jumping from the towers, even though he was more than 4 miles away. I watched that morning from a midtown building a mile closer, and you couldn’t see that.
Trump claimed, “I lost hundreds of friends in 9/11,” yet he cannot name one. For this to be true, he’d have had to have known one in every ten people who died.
He’s said, “I watched in Jersey City, NJ, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering,” adding, “It was on television. I saw it… a heavy Arab population, that were cheering as the buildings came down.” Police say this didn’t happen and there are no reports or television footage of it.
On 9/11/13, he tweeted, “I’d like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th.”
6/Trump sent out this ridiculous tweet on 9/11/13, on solemn occasion of the 2 year anniversary of the attacks, making it all about himself and how mean people are to him. pic.twitter.com/1RPNNYQcmw
— 🌊ⒿⒶⓎ🇺🇸ⒷⓇⓄⓌⓃ🗽 (@TheMrJayBrown) July 29, 2019
He bragged that his appearance on Face The Nation in 2017 gave the show its highest ratings since 9/11, saying 9/11 was a tremendous advantage in comparing ratings.
When he didn’t like the proposed design of the new Trade Center, he griped, “The terrorists win if we build this job the way it is. I mean, I don’t want to have the terrorists win… and that’s what’s going to happen if we build this pile of junk.”
“Donald Trump lies. A lot. But lying about 9/11 is truly abhorrent.”
Normal people don’t invoke the idea of terrorists winning because of a design they dislike or use our nation’s darkest day to compare ratings.
Normal people don’t use 9/11 to extend best wishes, call out enemies or fabricate a story to demonize a group of people.
Normal people don’t lie about seeing things they didn’t see that day, losing hundreds of friends or donating to victims’ charities.
Normal people don’t steal money meant for those hurt by the attacks, pretend they toiled at Ground Zero or boast about themselves when talking about the horrific event.
Normal people don’t do any of this. This is not a normal person. These are not normal times. But normal people will rebuild after this disaster too.
