Trump had an unusual reaction to 9/11 just hours after the attacks
YouTube/Fox5NY
Trump, then a real-estate developer who had only flirted with a political career, was speaking to local TV station WWOR on the day of the attacks when he was asked about a skyscraper he owned near the fallen Twin Towers.
"Donald, you have one of the landmark buildings down in the Financial District, 40 Wall Street," said WWOR analyst Alan Marcus. "Did you have any damage, or did you - what's happened down there?"
Trump's response seemed to focus less on the deadly attack than the fact that the World Trade Center was no longer the tallest building in the area.
"Well, it was an amazing phone call," Trump said. "I mean, 40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually before the World Trade Center the tallest, and then when they built the World Trade Center it became known as the second-tallest, and now it's the tallest."
He continued: "And I just spoke to my people, and they said it's the most unbelievable sight, it's probably seven or eight blocks away from the World Trade Center, and yet Wall Street is littered with two feet of stone and brick and mortar and steel."
The interview came under scrutiny during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Critics argued that Trump's references to his building's relative height were out of place and insensitive coming so shortly after the attack. As Snopes.com put it, some viewed the comments as "the hallmark of an egoist with no compunctions about using tragedy as an opportunity for self-promotion."
However, Snopes conceded that "in the context of the full interview, Trump's remarks could perhaps be considered defensible," adding that the question he was answering pertained to Trump's building in particular.
Meanwhile, Marcus, the WWOR analyst who is also Trump's friend and former publicist, told Politico last year that the response was simply "Donald being Donald."
"He is the brand manager of Trump, and he is going to tout that brand, and he does it reflexively," Marcus said. "Even on that day."
To boot, Trump's claim that his building was now "the tallest" in downtown Manhattan isn't factually accurate - the nearby 70 Pine Street building is 25 feet taller than Trump's 40 Wall Street. Trump's building has four more stories, however.
Listen to Trump's comments below:
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- FSSAI in process of collecting pan-India samples of Nestle's Cerelac baby cereals: CEO
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- A surprise visit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to China after deferring India visit
- Unemployment among Indian youth is high, but it is transient: RBI MPC member
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market