Donald Trump's role after September 11: "He helped us in so many different ways"

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, many businessmen and philanthropists supported New York City financially, with the aim of helping the victims and rebuilding what they could. As revealed by Rudy Giuliani on the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attack, one of the businessmen who collaborated the most with the cause was Donald Trump.

Back then, Trump was a major real estate entrepreneur with hotels and casinos everywhere. According to Giuliani on The Benny Johnson Show, "there were certain people who really stepped up," and Trump "was among ten or twelve of our civic leaders who did the most to help us."

What exactly did the tycoon do? Giuliani said he helped in many different ways, whether it was sending money directly or making connections with others who could collaborate. "Not only his own money but putting us in contact with people where we could raise money. I started my own charity just for my firefighters and police officers called the Twin Towers fund."

"We raised $240 million and we distributed every penny to the firefighters' and police officers' families and we paid the administrative costs separately. Donald Trump helped us do that," he added.

Giuliani's Role After 9/11

In the days following the attack, Giuliani coordinated the response of various City departments and organized support from state and federal authorities, while also making many media appearances. According to a Quinnipiac poll, his actions earned him a popularity rating of 79% in the weeks that followed.

In addition, he gained media attention for the response he had to Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud's comments. The Saudi prince had invited the United States to rethink its role in the Middle East after the attacks and the Guiliani was quick to refute it publicly.

"There is no moral equivalent for this [terrorist] act. There is no justification for it. And one of the reasons I think this happened is because people were engaged in moral equivalency in not understanding the difference between liberal democracies like the United States, like Israel, and terrorist states and those who condone terrorism. So I think not only are those statements wrong, they're part of the problem", he said at the time, in addition to rejecting a subsequent donation of $10 million from the prince.