#fact-check — Trump Fail

At a White House Event Honoring 9/11 First Responders, Trump — Who Was Miles Away in Trump Tower When the Towers Were Hit, and Who Has Announced He Will Skip the Coming Ground Zero Ceremony Because He Can't Give a Speech There — Claimed "Two Big Firemen" Grabbed Him and Carried Him to Safety From a Creaking Building Near Ground Zero, a Dramatic Rescue for Which There Is No Photo, No Record, No Named Firefighter, and No Evidence It Ever Happened

At a September 8, 2026 White House event honoring 9/11 first responders — marking the 25th anniversary — Trump told a dramatic new story casting himself as a near-victim of the attacks. He claimed that "the United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down," and that "two firemen, big strong guys, they grabbed me under the arms — 'got to get out of here!' — and they literally lifted me up, and they started running with me." The building he meant is One Liberty Plaza (formerly the U.S. Steel Building), which did face genuine collapse fears when the towers fell. But the rescue almost certainly did not happen to him. Fact-checkers at CNN, PolitiFact, and PBS found no photo, no video, no emergency record, and no first-responder account supporting it; Trump named neither of the two firefighters; and CNN's Daniel Dale noted the decisive problem — Trump was not near the World Trade Center when it was struck. He was in Trump Tower, miles uptown. There is no public evidence he was even in the building he described in the days afterward, and people who were on site say they never saw him. The story is stolen valor at a memorial: a man inserting himself, as a rescued near-hero, into the middle of the nation's worst terrorist attack — told to the faces of the real responders it honored — even as he plans to skip the coming Ground Zero ceremony on September 11 because its rules will not let him give a speech.

Trump Storms Out of Meet the Press Interview After Being Challenged on Election Lies: "You Are Either Crooked or You're Stupid"

Trump walked out of a taped Meet the Press interview with Kristen Welker on a Wisconsin farm after she pressed him on his false claims that the California primary was "rigged." When asked for evidence: "All I have to do is look, and I listen." When told there was no evidence: "You are either crooked or you're stupid." He then removed his microphone and left, saying "Thank you, darling." During the same interview he denied promising "no wars," said Jan. 6 rioters "should be compensated," called the Iran war "not an endless war — we've been doing this for three months," and was fact-checked by NBC on multiple false claims. His approval is at a record low of 34% — below his own first-term floor.

Trump Claims He's Cutting Drug Prices by "1,000%" — Which Would Mean Pharmacies Pay You

Trump repeatedly claims his drug pricing policy will cut prices by "1,000%." A 100% cut would make drugs free. A 1,000% cut would mean pharmacies owe you money for taking the pills. When confronted, Trump said there are "two ways of calculating." RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz defended the math in Congress. PolitiFact: "That doesn't add up."

Year-End Address: Claimed He "Brought Down Prices" — Inflation Was Unchanged at 3%

In a national address, Trump claimed "inflation has stopped" and he brought prices down. Fact-checkers rated it false: inflation was 3% — the same rate as when he took office. He also exaggerated grocery savings, gas prices, and immigration numbers.

30,573 False or Misleading Claims in First Term

The Washington Post documented 30,573 false or misleading statements during Trump's first term — an average of 21 per day. The pace accelerated over time, with the rate in his final year more than triple his first.