Trump’s Nephew Calls Out the Former President’s 9/11 Story

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a new family drama unfolded. Fred Trump III, the 63‑year‑old nephew of former President Donald J. Trump, took to X to call out what he called a “shocking lie” about his uncle’s alleged actions on that fateful day.

In a thread posted Tuesday night, Fred reminded followers that he tries to stay out of politics, but that the president’s repeated claims about rushing to Ground Zero were “so far off the mark it’s offensive.” He specifically took issue with Trump’s recent Fox News interview and a White House event where the former president described being whisked away by firefighters from the United States Steel Building (now One Liberty Plaza) while the towers burned.

Trump’s story has changed a lot over the years. Back in 2016, he said he was escorted to safety after the steel‑framed building began “creaking” in the days after the attacks. By 2021, the tale had grown more dramatic, with Trump insisting that two firemen literally lifted him off the ground because he was “big and heavy.” He even claimed he sent dozens—later hundreds—of construction workers to help at Ground Zero.

Fred, whose father was the late Fred Trump Jr., ripped those assertions apart. “The only crew he could have sent would have been secretarial and accounting staff from Trump Tower—people who could barely lift a box of files, let alone debris,” he wrote. He also noted that the United States Steel Building was built by engineers his family knew, and it never actually threatened to collapse.

Adding a personal touch, Fred recalled that a close friend’s grandfather helped design the building and that a partner’s brother was an engineer who inspected it after the attacks, finding it sound and ready for occupancy. “It wasn’t creaking, it wasn’t about to fall,” he said, “so the whole ‘creaking’ narrative feels made up.”

The White House, when asked for comment, offered only a generic statement from spokesperson Davis Ingle, who dismissed the criticism as “legacy media attacks” and declined to confirm any details of Trump’s account.

Fred’s criticism isn’t the first time he’s spoken out. In his 2024 memoir, All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way, he detailed a long‑running pattern of exaggeration and self‑promotion by his uncle. This latest spat adds yet another chapter to a family saga that has been playing out in the public eye for decades.

Whether the nephew’s remarks will change any public perception of Trump’s 9/11 narrative remains to be seen. What’s clear is that, on a day meant for solemn remembrance, the Trump family’s internal disagreements have taken center stage.