At a campaign rally in Buffalo, N.Y., the Republican frontrunner mistakenly prefaced a statement about first responders on 9/11 by ...
At a campaign rally in Buffalo, N.Y., the Republican frontrunner
mistakenly prefaced a statement about first responders on 9/11 by
saying he watched them "down on 7/11, down at the World Trade Center."
Wait, what?
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump
on Monday expanded on the meaning of "New York values," describing them
as every act of courage and kindness, while also commending the city
for its response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I'd
like to talk about New York values that we all know so well," Trump
began, reading comments he'd prepared during a campaign rally in Buffalo
on Monday, ahead of the state's primary on Tuesday. "Where do we see the values?" he asked, continuing to jab at rival Ted Cruz, who made has disparaging remarks about the state.
"We
see the values with our New York police and firefighters. They don't
get enough credit. These are great, great people, great Americans."
He
said you can see New York values in the state's transit workers, in
families that go to the parks, in restaurant workers in delis and
factory workers in upstate New York.
"You see it all over, you see tremendous, tremendous spirit," he said. "You see if really in the whole fabric of the community."
He continued to describe New York values as "honesty and straight talking."
"You
see it in our work ethic. We work hard ... and we're proud. You see it
in our family values and our families. You see it in the energy to get
things done," he said.
"We're builders. We make
things. We have courage and we do great great jobs for our community, we
have great community service, and that's where you see it."
He
then pivoted to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, commending the city and its
people for how it responded, calling the terrorism a "strike at the
heart of our city and our nation and in fact, even the world."
"This
was the worst attack in the history of our country. And when you think
of what we've done since then and how we've reacted, that's New York
values."
"In our darkest moments as a city, we showed the world the very best of America," he continued.
He
commended the firefighters, first responders, police officers and the
Port Authority workers for what they did in the immediate aftermath.
"All
of them who ran up those stairs, knowing that the end could be very
near. They knew it. They felt that building. They knew bad things were
going to happen and they ran up those stairs and nobody came back.
That's New York values."
He talked about people who died providing comfort and care and trying to help others.
"The
people in the towers who helped rescue each other and those that
perished knowing that if they left earlier, they could have gotten out.
They didn't want to do it. They stayed. They helped other people. Those
are New York values," he said.
"The restaurants
and local businesses who kept their shops open to help the first
responders and help people in need. Those are really the people when you
think in terms of New York values. The bravery."
"You never heard about somebody who left, who was running in the opposite direction."
He continued to talk about everyone who helped to clear the rubble, calling those people "amazing."
"Every small act of kindness, every great act of courage," he said.
"Those are New York values."
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