President Donald Trump — days after appearing to nap during a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon — hurled accusations at the New York Times of insensitivity over its coverage on the historic day.
Trump on Sunday shared a post from the Department of the Interior press office apparently condemning the New York Times for publishing reports on its botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
"On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the New York Times spent time and resources analyzing the Reflecting Pool," the comment stated. "They continue to avoid doing any real reporting on all the vandalism."
The Times report revealed the contractor that renovated the Reflecting Pool told the Trump administration that internal errors, not vandalism, caused problems with its lining.
It's worth noting that in 2002 the New York Times won a record-breaking seven Pulitzer prizes for its coverage of the tragic terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
Its journalists raced toward Ground Zero to document the explosive flames, the bloodied victims, and the first responders who sacrificed their lives to save others.
Trump, meanwhile, skipped the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero — where former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were in attendance — and opted instead to give a speech at the Pentagon.
The president has also come under fire this week for increasingly bold claims about his own efforts following the attacks on the twin towers.
"Trump has long talked about his 9/11 response, saying he spent a lot of time at Ground Zero and brought hundreds of workers to aid in the recovery effort," a Politifact report states.
"PolitiFact previously found no evidence that Trump brought hundreds of workers to the site, and other fact-checkers have similarly found the evidence lacking. Trump World Tower was under development in 2001 in Midtown Manhattan, about 5 miles from the World Trade Center."
