Trump Resurrects Debunked Bin Laden Claims

During a speech celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy, President Donald Trump claimed that he alone had warned about Osama bin Laden a year before 9/11, a claim repeatedly debunked over the years, notably by CNN.

«I wrote about Osama bin Laden exactly one year ago.»

During his speech, Trump abruptly shifted the subject to Osama bin Laden, claiming he had issued a warning about the terrorist a year before the September 11, 2001 attacks.

A page devoted to bin Laden

Urging his audience to «please remember», Trump insisted that one of his books, ghostwritten and published in 2000, contained his warning to «watch» bin Laden.

«I wrote, whatever the hell the title, I can’t tell you, but I can tell you there’s a page in there devoted to the fact that I saw somebody named Osama bin Laden, and I didn’t like it.»

«I wrote about Osama bin Laden exactly one year ago,» Trump said, misspeaking and before adding, «one year before he blew up the World Trade Center.» The president went on to insist that he had warned about bin Laden, citing the line from his book: «You’ve got to watch Osama bin Laden.»

According to CNN, Trump, referring to his book titled «The America We Deserve», though appearing unable to recall the title, claimed he had written a page devoted to bin Laden, insisting that he had warned to «take care of him»: «I wrote, whatever the hell the title, I can’t tell you, but I can tell you there’s a page in there devoted to the fact that I saw somebody named Osama bin Laden, and I didn’t like it» adding:

«You gotta take care of him.»

«So, you gotta take a little credit, because nobody else is gonna give it to me.»

A claim long debunked

Trump quickly added, as proof of his claim, that «The fake news would never let me get away with that statement unless it was true.» However, the media has repeatedly disproved his assertion, with outlets like CNN noting they have debunked the story since 2015.

Trump writes in his book that: «One day we’re told that a shadowy figure with no fixed address named Osama bin Laden is public enemy number one, and U.S. jetfighters lay waste to his camp in Afghanistan. He escapes back under some rock, and a few news cycles later it’s on to a new enemy and new crisis.»

Far from being a personal warning, this passage is written as an observation of the media cycle, where one threat replaces another. By the late 1990s, Osama bin Laden was already on the U.S. radar as a high-profile target. President Bill Clinton had publicly identified him as a major threat, ordering strikes against al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan in 1998, years before George W. Bush took office.

A little credit

The book’s reference is therefore not a prescient call to action, but rather a reflection of debates and operations that were already underway.

Far from the «You gotta take care of him» line he expressed during his address to U.S. Navy members, where he added that «They didn’t do it; a year later he blew up the World Trade Center.»

Trump concluded the topic by insisting he deserved credit, since no one else would give it to him: «So, you gotta take a little credit, because nobody else is gonna give it to me.»