Donald Trump lashed out at a New York Times journalist who alleged he would skip the 25th anniversary of September 11 at Ground Zero in Manhattan. The claim suggested his absence was due to not being invited to deliver a speech.
The former president took to his platform, Truth Social, on Friday, fiercely criticizing Maggie Haberman’s report as ‘phony.’
Using fiery language, Trump wrote, ‘Maggot Hagerman, the Fake Reporter from The Failing New York Times, an unattractive person both inside and out, and who knows less about me than most reporters on the beat (She’s a SCAMMER!), made up a story that on September 11th, I’m not going to the World Trade Center, in New York City, because they won’t let me make a speech, and I’m going to the Pentagon in D.C., because I’m a featured speaker.’
He insisted that, ‘This is more Corrupt News, I’ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it’s a “solemn ceremony!”‘
Trump further remarked that he ‘would love not to speak, because I’m speaking all the time, and this is a day to remember the victims, and their beautiful family members.’
Haberman reported on Thursday that Trump’s team had scoped out the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, before being discouraged over the museum’s commitment to nonpartisanship.
But the president flatly denied her claims and renewed his threats of legal action against her employers, warning ‘all will be revealed in the lawsuit against them.’
His post came hours after a US military judge ruled Friday that confessions made by alleged 9/11 attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to FBI agents are inadmissible and cannot be used against him at trial.
Donald Trump bashed the New York Times after it claimed he won’t be attending the 25th anniversary of September 11 at Ground Zero in Manhattan because he wasn’t allowed to give a speech
Trump eviscerated NYT reporter Maggie Haberman, who has frequently clashed with him over alleged inside scoops detailing the President’s thinking on various issues
His post came hours after US military judge ruled Friday that confessions made by alleged 9/11 attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (pictured) to FBI agents are inadmissible and cannot be used against him at trial
Haberman has yet to publicly comment on Trump’s post but a spokesperson for the Times defended their reporting later Friday.
‘The Times’s reporting is based on information from multiple people with knowledge of the discussions and planning around New York’s September 11 ceremony,’ Charlie Stadtlander told The Daily Mail.
‘Our journalists sought comment from the White House communications team, who provided a statement that didn’t contradict what we had learned. The president chose to attack the story 24 hours later, singling out one of the four reporters who wrote it. We are confident in the accuracy of the reporting.’
In a statement to the Times, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly emphasized a remembrance of the victims but made no reference to the President’s specific plans.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for further comment.
On Friday, Trump confirmed he will mark September 11 at the Pentagon.
Vice President JD Vance will represent the Trump administration at the New York ceremony instead, while ex-Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W Bush are expected to attend.
It comes as the trial for alleged 9/11 plotter Mohammed and three other accused plotters was thrown into jeopardy by the judge’s ruling Friday.
Mohammed, also known as ‘KSM,’ was considered one of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenants before he was captured in March 2003 in Pakistan.
Prosecutors have already excluded statements that Mohammed made after his capture when he was held by the CIA in overseas prisons and subjected to brutal treatment including waterboarding before his transfer in 2006 to Guantanamo, the Times reported.
But trial judge Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama has now concluded that Mohammed’s subsequent interrogations in 2007 at Guantanamo were also inadmissible.
‘The prosecution has failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Mohammad´s statements to the FBI were voluntarily given,’ Schrama wrote in his ruling, which was not immediately released to the public. The Times said its unclassified contents were confirmed by several lawyers who had seen it.
The last time Trump attended the Ground Zero ceremony was in 2024 , when he was in the same company as Kamala Harris, as the two shared an awkward handshake
A spokesman for the US military court did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
Schrama cited an ‘unbroken continuation of the CIA’s psychological conditioning and severe coercion,’ and also found that FBI agents intentionally failed to tell Mohammed that he had a right to be silent and to consult a lawyer. Prosecutors can appeal the ruling.
Mohammed’s June 2028 trial has been repeatedly delayed and a plea deal that would have seen the death penalty taken off the table was withdrawn last year following protests from the relatives of some victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Much of the legal jousting in the 9/11 defendants’ cases has focused on whether they could be tried fairly after having undergone torture at the hands of the CIA.
Meanwhile Trump will attend the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Texas two days before September 11.
As he did last year, the president will give a speech at the Pentagon’s ceremonies, where politicians remain welcome to give an address.
He will then leave the country for Ireland to visit his golf course where the Irish Open is being held.
The President also commemorated September 11 at the Pentagon last year, in a ceremony that was moved into the internal courtyard after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Trump will instead mark September 11 from the Pentagon as he did last year after his alleged attempts to speak at the memorial in New York were reportedly rebuffed
Trump pledged to always honor those who died on that day.
‘We will defend the nation they served, the values they upheld and the freedom for which they died,’ he said.
‘We will support our troops, we will protect our families, and we will preserve the American way of life for every future generation.
‘We will build taller, grow stronger, fight harder and soar higher, and together we will go forward as one people with one heart, one faith, one flag and one glorious destiny under almighty God,’ he added.
Trump did go to New York afterward, as he attended a Major League Baseball game between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium.
The last time Trump attended the Ground Zero ceremony was in 2024, when he was in the same company as Kamala Harris, as the two shared an awkward handshake.
Trump and Harris appeared cordial as they met for a second time in 24 hours following their first debate.
Harris stood alongside President Joe Biden during the ceremony while Republican-turned-Democratic former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg acted as a buffer separating the current administration from Trump and his running mate Vance. Trump allegedly complimented Harris’s debate performance.