Real-estate mogul Donald Trump is furiously defending his claim that “thousands and thousands” of Muslims celebrated in New Jersey as the World Trade Center buildings collapsed on September 11, 2001.
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“What Trump saw were news reports on television about people in New Jersey celebrating the fall of the World Trade Center”, Nolte said.
A newly unearthed local news report from the days after 9/11 states that a “swarm” of Muslims in Jersey City, New Jersey, actually were on a rooftop exploding with glee on the night of the attacks.
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As Donald Trump announced, a meeting with 100 black ministers at his Manhattan headquarters was expected to end in a resounding endorsement from the group. Well, when questioned by CNN Giuliani said “we did have some celebrating, that is true”.
Even though there were a lot of rumors regarding Muslims cheering after the 9/11 attacks, various news organizations tried to confirm these but failed. “But what’s more discouraging than the things that he has said is the fact that in the face of him saying all of these things, he continues to surge in the polls”. On Tuesday, Eric Bolling, co-host of Fox News’ The Five, went further, saying there were media reports that people in Jersey City had been tipped off to watch the attacks…
“The problem is, they’ll say, ‘Trump is chicken, ‘” Trump said. But Mayor Giuliani (who has been tireless and magnificent in this crisis) rightly warned New Yorker-ers that is would be wrong to take their anger our on the city’s Arab and Muslim residents.
Trump also pointed to a 2001 newspaper article, and his campaign adviser cited clips from WCBS and MTV he said substantiated his account.
Trump’s recollection of that day and what took place in Jersey City and surrounding cities is false, according to city leaders, law enforcement and community leaders. “‘They knew, ‘ he said, ‘that the planes were going to hit and they wanted a ringside seat'”.
“It does not reflect, with any credibility, anything I remember either from intelligence or from observation, so I think that’s an exaggeration”, Card added.
Ahmed Shedeed, president of the Islamic Center of Jersey City, has also decried Trump’s comments as patently untrue. Some Muslims were indeed openly celebrating, and that’s all Trump will need to buttress his favorite storyline – that the press is biased against him. “Now, I know they don’t like to talk about it, but it was well covered at the time”.
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I agree with this well-argued letter that “siding with a political candidate whose rhetoric pathologizes black people” sends a questionable message. It is well known that Paterson is one of the nation’s biggest Muslim communities, so this could make sense and sustain her opinion.
