Trump: Memorial evoked border wall

Post-Gazette Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — He spoke of bravery, honor, patriotism and sorrow, but a different word was on President Donald Trump’s mind last week as he surveyed the memorial to 9/11 victims in Somerset County. The word was “wall.” That’s what he told Hill.TV in an Oval Office interview Tuesday.

“They built this gorgeous wall where the plane went down in Pennsylvania, Shanksville. And I was there. I made the speech. And it’s sort of beautiful. What they did is incredible,” Mr. Trump told Hill.TV. “They have a series of walls, I’m saying, it’s like perfect. So, so we are pushing very hard.”

He made those comments in the context of unspecified actions regarding immigration that the president expects to take soon.

One of his top campaign promises was to build a wall at the Mexican border, but he has not been able to secure enough support from Congress to get it done.

Democrats “want to make sure I don’t deliver on that promise,” Mr. Trump told Hill.TV.

His comments sparked a storm of criticism from people on social media who said it was callous, tasteless and insensitive to conflate the memorial for those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, with the planned border wall.

In an interview, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, said the president’s remarks were disappointing but not surprising.

“At some point you stop being shocked by the things he says but it’s still hard to believe how he compares the two. It’s certainly disrespectful,” Mr. Doyle said.

Friends of Flight 93 referred questions to a spokesman for the National Park Service, who was not immediately available.