Where was Donald Trump on 9/11?
Every account given by US president about his whereabouts on September 11, 2001, after being challenged on latest claim
Donald Trump has been challenged over his claim that he was lifted out of the rubble during 9/11, with his story contradicting a previous statement.
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The US President told a Steel Across America event on Monday that he was "down there right after [it] happened”, on September 11, 2001, but later wrote on Truth Social that he was not there on the same day.
America is today marking 25 years since 9/11, and Mr Trump has previously made claims about the fateful date, in 2015 peddling unfounded rumours that "large Arab populations" in New Jersey were celebrating the disaster.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump said two firefighters picked him up off the ground near the US Steel Building close to Ground Zero “right after” the terrorist attacks.
But his whereabouts on September 11 are still up for debate, with the president having now given various accounts of his activities. This is what we know.
Was Donald Trump at Ground Zero after 9/11?
It is thought that Donald Trump was not at, nor very close to, the World Trade Center on September 11, based on what he has said in the past about his experiences that day.
It seems more likely that he visited in the days after and that he heard about plane crashes - and possibly witnessed them from a building several miles away on the day.
These are the stories he has told:
2001: Trump says he heard of events from a witness
In his account that was nearest to the time, Mr Trump said that he heard reports that people had been jumping from the building from someone he spoke to.
He told a local news station that he had spoken to someone that day who witnessed “at least 10 people” jumping out of the towers.
November 2015: Claims to have been in Jersey City at 9/11
In November 2015, Mr Trump told a rally in Birmingham, Alabama, that he had been in Jersey City, around four miles from the World Trade Center.
“I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering."
The claim of cheering is unfounded.
November 2015: 'I watched events from Trump Tower'
The same month as the cheering claim, Mr Trump said he had seen 9/11 from his Trump Tower in Manhattan, four miles from Ground Zero and six from Jersey City.
He told a rally at Columbus: “Many people jumped, and I witnessed it; I watched that. I have a view - a view in my apartment that was specifically aimed at the World Trade Center. And I watched those people jump, and I watched the second plane hit. ... I saw the second plane hit the building, and I said, ‘Wow, that’s unbelievable.'"
This story goes beyond the initial account that he heard about the jumping from someone else - and suggests that he could clearly see individuals against a backdrop four miles away.
January 2016: Story of steel building
The same US Steel building story was told by Mr Trump in January 2016, at a rally in New Hampshire.
In his account at the time, he said that he had gone down several days after 9/11 not "right after" as he did in his 2026 version of the tale.
April 2016: Claims to have helped clear rubble
In April 2016, while speaking at a campaign rally in Buffalo, New York, Trump claimed he helped clear rubble after the attacks.
“These people were going through terror, and you know what happened? Everyone who helped clear the rubble - and I was there, and I watched, and I helped a little bit,“ he added.
August 2026: Trump says he went down to Ground Zero on September 12, 2001
Mr Trump told Fox News host Trey Gowdy that he “worked long and hard” with a team of construction workers at the scene on September 12.
He said: "I went down there very shortly thereafter. The following day - you couldn’t go down the same day, but, like, the following day, very, very quickly afterwards."
September 2026: Trump repeats US Steel building story and then clarifies Truth Social
At an event on September 8, 2026, Mr Trump said he had been “down there right after this happened”.
He described being rescued from rubble 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," he said.
His claims were questioned by emergency services, some of whom stated in the New York Times that they had not seen him.
Mr Trump then shared a video on Truth Social showing him being interviewed on TV not long after 9/11, in which he claims to have been down at Ground Zero.
He wrote on his social media site: "The Failing New York Magazine wrote a story that I wasn’t down at the World Trade Center after the Tragedy of September 11th, because nobody saw me there.
"Well, I don’t think I would be the first thing on anyone’s mind but, I was there- obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers."