Fox Hosts Defend Trump’s Lie That He Helped Clear Rubble After 9/11: ‘He Was Downtown A Lot’

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade defended President Donald Trump’s 9/11 claims, in which Trump told a crowd of first responders that he was “down there with you” at Ground Zero.

On Tuesday, Kilmeade asserted that Trump did indeed appear downtown in the aftermath of 9/11.

“Just like when people [are] saying he wasn’t there at 9/11, he was downtown a lot after the 9/11 attacks,” Kilmeade said.

While speaking to a group of 9/11 first responders and their families on Monday, Trump suggested without evidence that he was at ground zero in New York City with first responders following the attacks, saying that he “spent a lot of time down there with you.”

“I was down there also, but I’m not considering myself a first responder,” he said. “But I was down there. I spent a lot of time down there with you.”

Trump suggests that he was a 9/11 First Responder pic.twitter.com/cFnVkV3wru

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 29, 2019

Trump has repeatedly lied over the years about his involvement in the response to the 9/11 attacks.

Trump gave an interview hours after the World Trade Center towers collapsed bragging that his building was now the “tallest” in lower Manhattan.

Trump collected $150,000 in state funds intended to help small businesses following the attacks, even though his business was not affected, reports Media Matter.

Trump has falsely claimed that he “helped clear the rubble” from Ground Zero.

Trump claims he helped clear rubble and search for survivors on 9/11: pic.twitter.com/G3yodnBMK2

— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) April 19, 2016

Trump also lied that he watched “thousands” of Muslim Americans celebrate after the towers fell.

17 Years of Donald Trump's Weird Lies About 9/11 pic.twitter.com/5TMIt0QlyR

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) September 11, 2018