President Donald Trump pushed back on a New York Times report saying he will not attend a ceremony in New York City marking the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks, after organisers rejected his request to speak at the event. The Times said on Friday that Trump’s team had conveyed the president’s interest in taking part to the ceremony’s organisers over recent weeks. It cited three unnamed sources familiar with the discussions. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum has prohibited speeches by politicians at the ceremony since 2012, a policy that has been in place for more than a decade. Pentagon Plan and New York RepresentationThe New York Times reported that Trump is now expected to attend a memorial service at the Pentagon on this year’s anniversary. It also said that Vice President J D Vance would represent the White House at the New York event. Trump’s response to the report was posted on Truth Social. He criticised the Times’ account and said he had been to New York “many times over the years” and that “no one ever speaks”, describing the event as a “solemn ceremony”. He also wrote that he “would love not to speak”, adding: “because I’m speaking all the time.” Trump Targets New York Times ReporterAlongside his comments about the ceremony, Trump attacked one of the journalists who worked on the story. He derided Maggie Haberman as a “Fake Reporter” and said she was “an unattractive person both inside and out” in a post on Friday. Trump also claimed Haberman had been “falsely writing about me for years” and said she was a “stalker”. In the same post, he added that she should be forced to turn over money he said she had earned through reporting he described as “fake”. The post included no evidence or documentation to support those claims. The report referenced officials and procedures around the memorial event, rather than addressing the personal criticism directly. Previous Legal Action Linked to Air Force OneTrump has frequently criticised coverage from The New York Times. Last month, his Justice Department subpoenaed four Times journalists after they reported on potential security risks linked to a new Air Force One aircraft that Trump described as having been gifted by Qatar. The department later withdrew the subpoenas. The Hill said it had contacted The New York Times for comment. Join the discussion? 29 August 2026
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