Trump Bragged 9/11 Left His Building Tallest, Said Twin Towers “Weren’t Great”

GOP Nominee Also Called Freedom Tower “Disgusting” and “A Pile of Junk”

Size-obsessed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump boasted on Sept. 11, 2001 that the terror attack on the World Trade Center had left his 40 Wall Street building the tallest in lower Manhattan. 

“40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually, before the World Trade Center, was the tallest — and then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second-tallest. And now it’s the tallest,” Trump told WWOR (audio above). 

Trump also later said the Twin Towers “were not great buildings,” saying they should not be replaced with replicas: 

“Once they get it cleared — and that is going to be a very long process — we will all have a better idea of what can be done on the site,” Trump said. “The current mindset is to put up new towers, and I agree with that.”

But he added: “To be blunt, they were not ‘great’ buildings. They only became great upon their demise last Tuesday.”

Later, Trump would express his disapproval of the eventual replacement, the Freedom Tower. 

“I’d rather have nothing than what they are building, Chris,” Trump told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. “It’s a terrible design. It’s designed by an egghead architect, who really doesn’t have a lot of experience designing something like this. It’s just a terrible design. …

“And not only the Freedom Tower, the buildings around it,” Trump added. “It looks like a junkyard. And it shouldn’t be built. And instead of not being built, they’re pushing forward to get it built faster. And I mean, frankly, I’d rather see nothing than see that pile of junk.”