Trump's long history of lying about 9/11 and exploiting it for personal gain

By Paul Waldman
Opinion writer
September 11 at 12:53 PM

On Tuesday, President Trump traveled to Shanksville, Pa., where Flight 93 was brought down on Sept. 11, 2001, by a group of passengers who gave their lives to save others. Given how he has acted at other events that were supposed to be removed from politics, it was a surprise that Trump didn’t take the occasion to offer extended remarks on the magnificence of his 2016 victory or the unfairness of the Russia investigation.

Still, it’s worth looking back at Trump’s history when it comes to Sept. 11. And what we find is that for Trump, it was always about Trump. Even on 9/11.

Even as the smoke was literally still rising from the World Trade Center, he saw a terrorist attack against America as an opportunity for self-aggrandizement and self-promotion. He eventually turned it into a weapon of political hate, but in the immediate aftermath, Trump saw it as an opportunity for brand enhancement and wasted no time.

I can already hear the president’s supporters protest that I’m being terribly unfair. Well, here are some things the president has done with regard to 9/11:

Trump bragged that the destruction of the Twin Towers made his building the tallest in Lower Manhattan.

In a television interview on the day of the attacks, the anchor asked Trump if a building he owned near the World Trade Center had sustained damage. Here’s how he replied:

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/09/11/trumps-long-history-of-lying-about-9-11-and-exploiting-it-for-personal-gain/