With the 9/11 anniversary approaching, President Donald Trump’s latest claims have once again put his own role in the aftermath of the deadly attacks under scrutiny. And this time, it was not only the president’s words that viewers were watching. It was the face sitting across from him.
As Trump described rushing to Ground Zero the day after and putting construction crews to work, Fox News host Trey Gowdy’s expression grew increasingly difficult to read. At one point, viewers appeared to focus less on Trump’s story than on the vexed look on Gowdy’s face.
That reaction became part of the story as Trump revived a long-disputed account of his role in the aftermath of the attacks, telling Gowdy that he went downtown the following day and that he and his workers “worked long and hard.” The claim has been questioned for years, with no documented evidence establishing that Trump deployed the large construction force he has described.
Trump made the comments during an interview on Fox News as the country prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. He told Gowdy that he watched the attacks unfold from an apartment and initially wondered whether the first impact could have been caused by something other than a plane.
He then turned to what happened afterward.
“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,” Trump said. “You couldn’t go down the same day, but like the following day very, very quickly afterward, and we worked long and hard.”
If that wasn’t enough, Trump, while honoring the heroes of 9/11 at the Ellipse in Washington on Tuesday, made another extraordinary claim: that two firefighters essentially had pulled him from the rubble moments before the towers collapsed.
“We thought it was coming down on top of us. And two firemen, big strong guys; and I’m not the smallest guy in the world. They grabbed me under the arms — said, ‘got to get out of here!’ — and they literally lifted me up,” Trump told the audience without citing evidence.
“This is not easy to do — I’m big. They lifted me up, and they started running with me. I said fellas, I can run myself. But they were amazing. But they thought it was coming down; it didn’t come down, U.S. steel.”
Trump has made similar claims about being involved at Ground Zero over the years, but critics point to a complete absence of records showing he sent the hundreds of workers he claims assisted in the cleanup and recovery effort.
Former FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Alles, who supervised search-and-rescue units at Ground Zero, previously challenged Trump’s account that he had sent a large number of workers to the site.
“We would have had documentation of that,” Alles said. “All the crews were operating under police and fire department supervision.”
Political commentator David Pakman, who revisited Trump’s account on his podcast, said the evidence needed to support Trump’s version of events has never emerged.
“Long and hard. Trump is working long and hard. Give me a break,” Pakman said, according to Raw Story, adding that the “evidence has never ever, ever materialized.”
Pakman said the available record shows Trump visited the area around Ground Zero in the days following the attack, but not that he led or supplied a major cleanup operation. He also pointed to Trump’s comments at the time about his 40 Wall Street property, which Trump said had become “the tallest building” in lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center towers fell. Pakman noted that 70 Pine Street was actually taller.
But as Trump’s account unfolded on Fox News, social media users became increasingly focused on Gowdy’s incredulous expression. The former South Carolina congressman, prosecutor, and Fox News host appeared to listen closely as Trump described what he said happened in the days after the attacks.
One viewer summed up: “The face of a man trying to not betray the stink.”
Another posted: “That’s straight up disturbing.”
A third focused specifically on Gowdy’s expression, asking: “What is this look?”
Another observer was less certain about what the expression meant: “Trey Gowdy looks skeptical. Or maybe that’s just how Trey Gowdy looks.”
And another explained Gowdy’s reaction as a “bullsh*t” nod of approval.
Gowdy’s expression does not prove what he thought of Trump’s account. But the reaction underscores how unusual the exchange seemed to some viewers, especially because the president was recounting one of the most traumatic events in American history while making a long-disputed claim.
The timing also adds another layer to the controversy. Trump is scheduled to mark the 25th anniversary at the Pentagon rather than attend the annual Ground Zero ceremony in New York. Vice President JD Vance is expected to represent the administration in Manhattan.
The Ground Zero ceremony has barred political speeches for years, and reports have said Trump wanted to speak there before changing his plans.
