Trump accused of 'hate campaign' after claiming thousands cheered on 9/11

Republican frontrunner accused of lying after he suggested Arab
neighbourhoods in New Jersey celebrated as the Twin Towers came down

Staff and agencies
Monday 23 November 2015 04.34 GMT

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been accused of running a hate campaign after he claimed to have seen “thousands” of people cheering the 9/11 attacks from New Jersey.

Trump first told the story on Saturday at a rally in Alabama, as he stressed the need for greater surveillance, including monitoring certain mosques, in the wake of the Paris attacks.

“I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And 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,” Trump said.

He repeated the assertion on Sunday in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week,” as Stephanopoulos explained to Trump that police had refuted any such rumours at the time.

“It did happen. I saw it,” said Trump. “It was on television. I saw it.”

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