- President Donald Trump on Monday when he said he “spent a lot of time” with first responders after 9/11, an unproven claim that drew criticism.
- On Twitter, the #LostTrumpHistory hashtag gained traction, with people mocking Trump’s claim by editing him into photos of historical events like the lunar landing and the sinking of the Titanic.
- Scroll down to see some examples.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
People on Twitter are mocking President Donald Trump’s unproven claim Monday inserting himself into the response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Trump made the comment at a Rose Garden ceremony where he signed into law a bill granting permanent compensation to first responders who later fell ill because of their efforts.
“I was down there also, but I’m not considering myself a first responder,” Trump told 9/11 first responders and others who had lost friends and colleagues in the attacks. “But I was down there. I spent a lot of time down there with you.”
Trump’s claim drew criticism and incredulity. Though he was seen and photographed in lower Manhattan in the week after the attack, there is no evidence that he had a significant presence among first responders at ground zero.
On the day of the attack, he spoke with a WWOR-TV reporter by phone and falsely claimed that with the World Trade Center gone a building he owned nearby had just become the tallest in the area.
Many people on Twitter responded with humor, posting images on Twitter under the hashtag #LostTrumpHistory that inserted Trump into events from history:
First Responder at the Delaware.#LostTrumpHistory pic.twitter.com/qiMvBT8bqQ
— Eric Wolfson (@EricWolfson) July 29, 2019
The One where Trump Saved the Day at the Bowling Green Massacre. pic.twitter.com/qV1lCswOaO
— View from my Office (@viewfrommyoffic) July 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/FantomSolace/status/1156015147304935430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
If your lips are moving, you are lying. We all know that. You can't help yourself. You have achieved nothing by yourself. You hang on the coattails of others and try to steal their thunder. You are utterly shameless!#TrumpLostHistory pic.twitter.com/wvKkpDTqhQ
— Vetinari3 (@Vetinari3) July 30, 2019
I don't think this happened... But who am i to doubt the third man to walk on the moon? #trumplosthistory pic.twitter.com/DgLgucqhgq
— Cody (@JagsFanCody) July 29, 2019
Others pointed to Trump's long history of dubious claims about 9/11, including the debunked claim that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated when the Twin Towers collapsed.
https://twitter.com/RedHotChiliEyes/status/1155916626186952705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It's not the first time in recent weeks that the president's take on history has been mocked.
On July 4, a speech he gave in Washington, DC, claimed that the 18th-century American army in the Revolutionary War "seized airports" from the British.
He later blamed the mistake on his teleprompter.