{"id":344810,"date":"2026-09-12T07:36:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T07:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/344810\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T07:36:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T07:36:49","slug":"why-wasnt-trump-at-nyc-9-11-memorial-his-corrupt-claim-over-ground-zero-absence-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/344810\/","title":{"rendered":"Why wasn\u2019t Trump at NYC 9\/11 memorial? His \u2018corrupt\u2019 claim over Ground Zero absence explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump<\/a> marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Pentagon on Friday instead of joining the Ground Zero ceremony in New York City. Vice President JD Vance attended the New York<\/a> event with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. <\/p>\n

\"TrumpTrump marked 9\/11 at the Pentagon, while JD Vance joined former presidents in New York for the Ground Zero ceremony.. Photographer: Annabelle Gordon\/UPI\/Bloomberg (Bloomberg)<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s decision drew attention because he is a New York native and had attended the ceremony before. The New York Times reported that his wish to speak at the memorial was one reason he chose the Pentagon. Trump rejected that explanation and said he was asked to speak in Washington instead.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Trump’s alleged face droop at 9\/11 memorial sparks ‘stroke’ speculation; ‘did he fall asleep?’<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Donald Trump chose Pentagon over New York 9\/11 ceremony?<\/p>\n

According to The New York Times<\/a>, Trump had wanted to deliver remarks at the Ground Zero ceremony, but the annual event does not allow politicians or public officials to give speeches. That reportedly played a part in his decision to attend the Pentagon, where he was scheduled to speak.<\/p>\n

Trump disputed that account on Truth Social. He wrote, \u201cI\u2019m not going to the World Trade Center, in New York City, because they won\u2019t let me make a speech, and I\u2019m going to the Pentagon in D.C., because I\u2019m a featured speaker. This is more Corrupt News, I\u2019ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it\u2019s a \u2018solemn ceremony!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Read: What role did Saudi Arabia have in 9\/11 attacks? Victim widow Terry Strada unleashes scathing criticism at NYC memorial<\/a><\/p>\n

The White House had already confirmed that Trump would commemorate the anniversary at the Pentagon, while JD Vance would represent the administration in New York.<\/p>\n

JD Vance joins Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden<\/p>\n

While Trump stayed in Washington, JD Vance attended the Ground Zero ceremony in Manhattan. He was joined by all four living former presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

The gathering marked a rare moment in which current and former presidents stood together in New York to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks. Trump had attended the New York ceremony in 2024, when he appeared alongside Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n

Also Read: How counterterrorism has empowered Donald Trump\u2019s imperial presidency<\/a><\/p>\n

Donald Trump\u2019s new 9\/11 firefighter claim faces questions<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s absence from New York came days after he made a new claim about what happened to him near Ground Zero after the attacks.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cWe thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big strong guys. And I\u2019m not the smallest guy in the world. They grabbed me under the arm, said, \u2018Got to get out of here.\u2019 And they literally lifted me up. I said, \u2018Fellas, I can run myself,\u2019 but they were amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House has not provided evidence that the incident happened. PolitiFact also found no evidence that Trump was carried by firefighters, although there were documented concerns about a nearby building\u2019s stability after 9\/11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Pentagon on Friday instead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[125060,153,129249,9,24,56,63,65,64,4658,84426],"class_list":["post-344810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-9-11-attack","tag-donald-trump","tag-ground-zero-ceremony","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-pentagon","tag-september-11-attacks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}