1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

The morning of 9/11 changed the course of millions of American lives. For normal Americans, that day is sacred. But Trump isn’t normal. He’s always treated that day as an opportunity. Recently, Trump spoke at an event on the Ellipse honoring first responders, standing next to a 21-foot piece of steel recovered from the South Tower. It was a solemn setting, but Trump told a deranged lie to make it about himself The earliest photo or video of Trump anywhere near Ground Zero is from September 13th, two days later, when he was doing television interviews. A retired FDNY deputy chief who spent months on the pile has said he never saw Trump there once. In 2016, Trump told a version of this same story, except back then the firefighters just grabbed him and he ran on his own. Now, apparently, they carried him. The story gets bigger and better every time he tells it. On the actual day of the attacks, with the towers still burning, Trump called into a news station to talk about one of his buildings. The earliest photo or video of Trump anywhere near Ground Zero is from September 13th, two days later, when he was doing television interviews. A retired FDNY deputy chief who spent months on the pile has said he never saw Trump there once. In 2016, Trump told a version of this same story, except back then the firefighters just grabbed him and he ran on his own. Now, apparently, they carried him. The story gets bigger and better every time he tells it. On the actual day of the attacks, with the towers still burning, Trump called into a news station to talk about one of his buildings. His building was now the tallest in downtown Manhattan. That’s what he wanted people to know on September 11th, 2001. You really can’t make this stuff up. At that same event, Trump gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a man named Welles Crowther. You might know him as the Man in the Red Bandana. He was 24. He saved at least 18 people in the South Tower, going back up the stairs again and again until the building came down on top of him. His mother and sister were there to accept the medal. It could have been a special moment, but Trump, again, made it about himself. For Trump, this anniversary is just a stage. He’s skipping the ceremony at Ground Zero on Friday. The New York Times reported that part of the reason is that the memorial doesn’t let politicians give speeches, and Trump wanted to speak. He denied it, and attacked the reporter. But he’s going to the Pentagon instead, where he can. It’s disgusting. That day is sacred to this country, and he can’t stop making it about himself. But honestly, none of it should surprise us. He’s the same man he was on September 11th, 2001. Everything is about him. Every story is a lie that makes him the hero. And what he actually cares about, what he’s always cared about, is having the biggest, tallest building. And somehow, he became the President of the United States.