Trump doubles down on claim he saw thousands cheer in NJ on 9/11

[sinkspur]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/22/457012242/trump-doubles-down-on-claim-he-saw-thousands-cheer-on-9-11

Trump Doubles Down On Claim He Saw Thousands Cheer In N.J. On 9/11

Updated November 22, 20153:39 PM ET

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has shown he is not one to back down.

In fact, when he was questioned by ABC News today about his assertion that "thousands and thousands of people" cheered the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 just across the river in New Jersey, Trump doubled down.

"It did happen. I saw it. It was on television. I saw it," Trump said.


George Stephanopoulos responded, "You saw that with your own eyes? Police say it didn't happen."

Trump said: "George, it did happen. There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey where you have large Arab populations. They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down. I know it might be not politically correct for you to talk about it, but there were people cheering as that building came down — as those buildings came down, and that tells you something. It was well covered at the time."

We asked our library to look through contemporaneous news reports. They tells us that that they could not turn up any news accounts of American Muslims cheering or celebrating in the wake of Sept. 11.

A 2007 piece from Reuters about Paterson, New Jersey, does address the celebrations but it concludes that they never happened. Reuters reports:

"Paterson was shaken by the September 11 attacks. On that day, a report circulated on some radio stations and Internet sites that Muslims in Paterson had demonstrated in celebration.
"Paterson officials promptly issued a statement denying the report, and Muslim leaders insist it was pure fabrication."
After Trump initially made the assertion on the stump on Friday, The New York Times came to the same conclusion:

"There were cheers of support in some Middle Eastern countries that day, which were broadcast on television. But a persistent Internet rumor of Muslims celebrating in Paterson, N.J., was discounted by police officials at the time. A search of news accounts from that period shows no reports of mass cheering in Jersey City.

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the response of Muslim-Americans on Sept. 11 was disgust.
"'I know because I wrote it,' he said of the council's reaction, adding that if Mr. Trump had evidence of cheering, he should present it."

[NavyCanDo]

I remember seeing reports of Muslims in the Middle East celebrating, but can't recall any stories broadcast about American Muslims doing this. There may have been some isolated occurrences - but certainly "I saw thousands cheer" seems to be a huge stretch.

[sinkspur]

I remember seeing reports of Muslims in the Middle East celebrating, but can't recall any stories broadcast about American Muslims doing this. There may have been some isolated occurrences - but certainly "I saw thousands cheer" seems to be a huge stretch.

It's not a stretch.  It's bullshit.  There were not "thousands and thousands" of Muslims cheering 9/11 in the US.

But Trump will never back down from his contention. He never backs down from anything. He just won't talk about it again.

A man who never admits a mistake or a Presbyterian who never admits he has to ask for forgiveness is a consummate narcissist.

[DCPatriot]

I recall pics or videos of Muslim women yodeling and children being handed candy and sweets when the towers collapsed.

And I do believe it was in a New Jersey city close to New York.

Then again....maybe it was Lebanon.     

[sinkspur]

I recall pics or videos of Muslim women yodeling and children being handed candy and sweets when the towers collapsed.

And I do believe it was in a New Jersey city close to New York.

Then again....maybe it was Lebanon.     

It was the West Bank.  There were no Muslims cheering 9/11 here.

[DCPatriot]

It was the West Bank.  There were no Muslims cheering 9/11 here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-p1LEBAujE

East Jerusalem is not East Rutherford.   

[massadvj]

I imagine one of these days this guy is going to jump the shark, but so far none of the outrageous things he has said has mattered.

[sinkspur]

I imagine one of these days this guy is going to jump the shark, but so far none of the outrageous things he has said has mattered.

I don't think any of it will ever matter.    He's sacrosanct.

[Formerly Once-Ler]

It did happen. I saw it. It was on television. I saw it

Time to build a wall around NJ.

[NavyCanDo]

I don't think any of it will ever matter.    He's sacrosanct.

Just looked at the comments posted on the Blaze on this same story,  and the cult is not shaken. And nothing will. There is no jumping the shark with this man, and that is what I find most frightening.   Like Trump, they remember things completely wrong. The news clips of Palestinians cheering they now remember as being on the streets of New Jersey.

[libertybele]

I think we should consider this video before trashing Trump. I do know that this is also happening in the Detroit area.  They live in our country but hate us and mean us harm.  I stand with Trump on this issue!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5BtQgTGOI4

[mountaineer]

Some American Muslims did cheer on 9/11, but it wasn't thousands and they most certainly weren't shown on the network news.  I remember hearing from the wife of a local cardiologist of an incident at the hospital, where a Muslim doctor expressed some pleasure over the attacks and promptly got punched in the kisser by another doctor.

[libertybele]

Some American Muslims did cheer on 9/11, but it wasn't thousands and they most certainly weren't shown on the network news.  I remember hearing from the wife of a local cardiologist of an incident at the hospital, where a Muslim doctor expressed some pleasure over the attacks and promptly got punched in the kisser by another doctor.

Ok...perhaps not thousands of Muslims that reside in America, but certainly Muslims around the country were shown on TV celebrating American deaths on 9/11 and that is what has stuck in the minds of many Americans.  There is no denying that the attack on 9/11 emboldened the Muslims already here and the Muslim population has grown significantly since then. To me, I find it alarming that the majority of the members on the city council in Dearborn, Michigan are Muslim and it was recently reported that the city itself now has a Muslim majority. What law then takes precedence? Sharia or U.S.? Courts have ruled in the past that Sharia law stands. 

We need to seriously consider and learn a lesson from Europe as this is exactly what happened over there, particularly in France.  They have cities that are now heavily Muslim populated.  How has that worked out for them? 

To me it doesn't matter if there were thousands on TV, 1 anti-American Muslim is too many.  The Muslim population needs to be well monitored and perhaps even new laws crafted.  We need someone who will take a strong stand not only against Muslims or refugees coming into this country, but dealing with the ones already here as well. Both problems can quickly get out of control.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/for-the-first-majority-muslim-us-city-residents-tense-about-its-future/2015/11/21/45d0ea96-8a24-11e5-be39-0034bb576eee_story.html

[aligncare]

As a New York City resident, I remember being astonished and outraged about stories I heard following 9-11, that Muslims in New Jersey were cheering at the fall of the twin towers. I remember those stories, so no amount of media "scrubbing," "like with a cloth?" will alter my memory of those events.

[ABX]

Trump may not be lying, he may just be a victim of false memory. Most of us believe that our memory is like a video camera, capturing an accurate record that can be reviewed at a later date.

But the truth is our memories can deceive us — and they often do.

Numerous scientific studies show that memories can fade, shift and distort over time. Not only can our real memories become unwittingly altered and embellished, but entirely new false memories can be incorporated into our memory bank, embedded so deeply that we become convinced they are real and actually happened.

Trump has been branded a liar for embellishing his role in the event, with critics saying that as a politician he should be held to a higher standard.  But memory experts see the issue differently, noting that the well-documented story, told differently many times by Trump, actually offers a compelling case study in how memories can change and shift dramatically over time.

[EC]

 

It's why prosecutors HATE eye-witness testimony. Memory is horribly unreliable.

Apropos of people cheering - I saw exactly one person happy and excited about it. The shop keeper punched him - he happened to be closer.

[GAJohnnie]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/09/18/northern-new-jersey-draws-probers-eyes/40f82ea4-e015-4d6e-a87e-93aa433fafdc/


 
In Jersey City, within hours of two jetliners' plowing into the World Trade Center, law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river

Seems Trump isn't the only one who saw this.

[Longiron]

As a New York City resident, I remember being astonished and outraged about stories I heard following 9-11, that Muslims in New Jersey were cheering at the fall of the twin towers. I remember those stories, so no amount of media "scrubbing," "like with a cloth?" will alter my memory of those events.

Ah! but you are not a TRUMP hater but you may support someone else. A AMERICAN with a view point that some may or may not agree with. The TRUMP haters will try anything to dis credit him and hope they keep it up because he keeps getting stronger.

[GAJohnnie]

I think what Trump is doing here is co-mingled 2 images. There were news broadcasts from the Palestinian areas of mass celebrations in the streets on 09-11. It may be Trump is remembering those images and the story out of NJ after 09-11.

What I would love to know is who pulled the plug on those stories. Did the Palestinian Authority push the reporters out or did the US News media suppress those stories after the initial broadcast because they did not fit their  Management's political agenda?

[flowers]

I remember seeing a video of many celebrating. Now I had thought it was here in America. Yet could have been ME?

[sinkspur]

Just looked at the comments posted on the Blaze on this same story,  and the cult is not shaken. And nothing will. There is no jumping the shark with this man, and that is what I find most frightening.   Like Trump, they remember things completely wrong. The news clips of Palestinians cheering they now remember as being on the streets of New Jersey.

And there were "thousands and thousands."  Maybe millions.

[GAJohnnie]

You might as well not waste our time Sink. You been so flamboyantly rabidly, hyperbolic anti Trump anything you post about him gets automatically dismissed as  just more of your usual TDS propaganda

Your mistake here was to engage in the usual Leftist propaganda tactics of slander and shameless personal attacks. Conservatives see those tactics being used, are use to having them directed at themselves, and thus get highly suspicion of anyone using those Leftist style debate tactics.

Sorry Sink but you have too poisoned the well to be taken seriously on the issue any longer.

[sinkspur]

You might as well not waste our time Sink. You been so flamboyantly rabidly, hyperbolic anti Trump anything you post about him gets automatically dismissed as  just more of your usual TDS propaganda

Your mistake here was to engage in the usual Leftist propaganda tactics of slander and shameless personal attacks. Conservatives see those tactics being used, are use to having them directed at themselves, and thus get highly suspicion of anyone using those Leftist style debate tactics.

Sorry Sink but you have too poisoned the well to be taken seriously on the issue any longer.

Says a guy who showed up the day before yesterday and is now appointing himself the class disciplinarian.

I appreciate that you will not be wasting your time on my posts any longer.  Can I count on that? 

[kevindavis007]

Liked he claimed to have some information regarding Obama's birth records.....

[libertybele]

Says a guy who showed up the day before yesterday and is now appointing himself the class disciplinarian.

I appreciate that you will not be wasting your time on my posts any longer.  Can I count on that?

I don't see him as a person being your disciplinarian rather he is simply acknowledging the fact that in general most tend to shun your liberal tendencies and comments and seemingly purposeful agitation in a forum that is predominantly conservative.