ANI
07 Sep 2026

Washington, DC [US], September 7 (ANI): Marking the solemn approach of the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President Donald Trump has reflected on the profound impact of that fateful morning in 2001, recalling the moment he realised the world had changed forever and praising New York City's resilience in rebuilding from the devastation. 

Recalling the tragic events during an interview with Trey Gowdy on Fox News' Gowdy America, President Trump described watching the unfolding tragedy from his apartment in Midtown Manhattan.

'I was watching a business show on television, like around 8.30 in the morning... and then all of a sudden, they never talked about Kathy Welch or anything else, it was just immediately like, there's a fire in the World Trade Centre, building one, two, one, and it's at the top, and they said, it must be a boiler that exploded, but I know all about roasts, the boilers are in the basement, they're not at the top, right,' Trump said.

'So it wasn't a boiler. But nobody saw the plane hit, very few people saw it hit. And I have an apartment where I'm viewing the World Trade Centre from Midtown; that was downtown, but it's not very far, one of the buildings, 115 stories tall,' he added.

Describing the horrifying realisation as the second aircraft approached, Trump noted: 'And I'm viewing this thing happen, I said, that's crazy, it couldn't be a plane. Maybe it was a missile, maybe it was something, but it's not anything that we built, like the boilers and the air conditioners; it's none of that stuff. I said, wow, that's, and it was really, and then I'm watching, and I saw the second plane hit, and you saw that come, and you're watching it, and it's, because I watched the air patterns for years, and you know where the planes are; they go right up to the Hudson River. This thing was coming right into the second building. And I said, wow, so I watched that happen, and I said, wow, we are now in a different time. So I saw it, and I said, the world has just changed.'

Reflecting on the aftermath and visiting the site shortly after the tragedy, he commended the city's monumental cleanup and recovery efforts.

'And I went down, I was building a building in New York, and I had a lot of construction workers, and I went down there very shortly thereafter, the following day, you couldn't go down the same day, but like the following day, very, very quickly afterwards, and we worked long and hard, but it was just so terrible and so hopeless, it was so hopeless, such a terrible thing. And you know, people can say what they want about New York, but they rebuilt that project so fast, it was so incredible to see. Just the removal of the debris, you know, this was like a mountain; these were massive buildings,' Trump stated.

Emphasising the speed of the reconstruction of the new World Trade Centre, he added: 'And they came straight down, and just massive, and it was done so quickly. And the job was approved, and the job went up, the new one, the new World Trade Centre. And it was amazing. Within a relatively short period of time, you had a new building up, gleaming and glistening. And I don't think New York's ever gotten enough credit for that. I think a lot of places would have been years and years before, if they ever got it started, actually, but years and years. So it had a big impact. But I did say we have just entered a different phase of the world.'

The upcoming 25th anniversary will be observed on September 11, marking a quarter century since the coordinated terrorist attacks that profoundly reshaped the United States and its approach to national security.

On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger aircraft in a coordinated attack against the United States. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers in New York, while a third struck the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defence, in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth aircraft crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempted to regain control of the plane. The attacks killed 2,977 people, according to official US figures, making September 11 one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history.

The destruction of the Twin Towers and the attack on the Pentagon triggered an immediate national crisis and ushered in a new era of US counterterrorism operations, military engagements and heightened domestic security measures. At Ground Zero in New York, the site where the World Trade Centre towers once stood, an annual remembrance ceremony continues to honour the victims. The names of those killed are read aloud by family members and loved ones, preserving a solemn tradition that has become central to the country's 9/11 commemorations.

The attacks were orchestrated by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and followed years of confrontation between the terrorist organisation and the United States. The assault on American soil prompted Washington to launch a global campaign against al-Qaeda and its affiliates, beginning with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.

As the nation observes Patriot Day and the National Day of Service and Remembrance this week, marked by communities across the United States through moments of silence, reading the names of victims, displaying flags at half-staff, and engaging in volunteer projects, these reflections serve as a poignant reminder of resilience in the face of tragedy. (ANI)