Donald Trump claims he warned about 9/11 a year before it happened

During a speech to Navy personnel at Naval Station Norfolk, U.S. President Donald Trump reignited a familiar claim that he had warned about Osama bin Laden and could have prevented the September 11 attacks if his warnings had been taken seriously.

“Please remember I wrote about Osama bin Laden exactly one year before he blew up the World Trade Center,” Trump said while addressing hundreds of sailors gathered to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy.

“I told people, ‘You’ve got to watch Osama bin Laden.’ They didn’t do it. A year later, he blew up the World Trade Center,” Trump continued. “So I’ll take a little credit because nobody else will.”

Trump was referring to his 2000 book “The America We Deserve,” where he mentioned bin Laden as a potential threat to U.S. security. The reference came more than a year before 9/11, though experts note that bin Laden had already been publicly known as a major global threat, particularly after the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings.

While Trump’s mention of bin Laden might appear foresighted, analysts point out that many intelligence agencies and security experts were already warning about Al-Qaeda’s growing reach long before the 2001 attacks.

Trump’s Speech at the Navy 250 Celebration

Trump arrived nearly an hour late to the event, leaving sailors and their families waiting in silence on the pier before his arrival. When he finally appeared, he was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, and Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas, a former Navy admiral and White House physician.

Before addressing the audience, Trump visited the USS George H.W. Bush, greeted sailors, and distributed challenge coins as tokens of appreciation. He and the First Lady later observed a live military demonstration Navy destroyers launching missiles, SEALs descending from helicopters, and fighter jets taking off from the carrier’s deck.

Political Context: The Government Shutdown

The speech came amid an ongoing federal government shutdown, which has led to unpaid military personnel and thousands of furloughed federal workers. Trump blamed Democrats for what he described as an attempt “to destroy this wonderful celebration of the U.S. Navy’s birthday.”

The shutdown has also caused delays in infrastructure and energy projects in states like New York and Illinois, fueling political tensions in Washington.