President Donald Trump has said he predicted the threat Osama bin Laden posed to the United States in a book published a year before the attack on September 11, 2001, raising eyebrows on social media.
On Sunday, Trump told the story as he delivered remarks during a celebration for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy in Norfolk, Virginia.
“History will never forget that it was the SEALs who stormed the compound at Osama bin Laden and put a bullet in his head,” the president said. “Remember that.”
“And please remember I wrote about Osama bin Laden exactly one year ago, one year before he blew up the World Trade Center. And I said, ‘You got to watch Osama bin Laden,’” he continued.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via an email sent outside regular business hours.
Why It Matters
Trump has said repeatedly that he foresaw the threat posed by bin Laden, the founder of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda and the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, in his book The America We Deserve. The book, published in January 2000, makes a passing reference to bin Laden. It did not call for him to be killed or warn that he would be the perpetrator of a major attack if he were not.
The president’s comments have raised concerns among his critics about his memory.
What To Know
During his remarks, Trump appeared to suggest that he discussed bin Laden with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was a 19-year-old college student when Trump published The America We Deserve.
The president said: “I said one year before to Pete Hegseth. I said one year before. Where’s Pete? In the book 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, and you got to take care of him. They didn’t do it. A year later, he blew up the World Trade Center.”
Trump’s remarks prompted criticism and mockery on social media, with some noting that the claims had previously been debunked.
CNN reported in 2019 that there was only one mention of bin Laden in Trump’s 2000 book.
The passage said: “Instead of one looming crisis hanging over us, we face a bewildering series of smaller crises, flash points, standoffs, and hot spots. We’re not playing the chess game to end all chess games anymore. We’re playing tournament chess—one master against many rivals.
“One day we’re all assured that Iraq is under control, the U.N. inspectors have done their work, everything’s fine, not to worry. The next day the bombing begins. 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.”
In another section, Trump wrote that he was convinced the U.S. was in danger of a major terrorist attack that would be worse than the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, but he did not predict that bin Laden would be behind it. He also acknowledged that “no sensible analyst rejects this possibility.”
CNN reported that concerns about bin Laden plotting an attack was public knowledge in the year 2000. A CNN article published in June 1999 said U.S. officials feared bin Laden might be in the final stages of planning an attack on the U.S.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said in his speech on Sunday that he should be credited for flagging Osama bin Laden before the 9/11 attacks: “We got to take a little credit because nobody else is going to give it to me. You know the old story: They don’t give you credit, just take it yourself.”
CNN reporter Daniel Dale wrote on X: “President Trump told this tale about his 2000 book again today. I (and others) debunked it six years ago. He’s been repeating it for at least 10 years.”
Jessica Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote on X: “I mean, the U.S. govt had been aware of Bin Laden for decades, and by the mid-1990s he was the CIA’s most wanted terrorist with several well-known attacks. They were actively pursuing him at the time. So Trump’s boast is like warning the world about Hitler in 1942.”
Author and journalist James Surowiecki wrote on X: “The book published under his name in 2000 contains one glancing reference to bin Laden. And the reason Trump can’t remember the name of the book is because a ghost writer wrote it for him.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office wrote on X: “Does Trump even know what year it is?”
What Happens Next
Trump’s remarks also prompted some to speculate about his health and mental fitness, and such scrutiny is likely to continue.
There have been concerns about the president’s health as he has been seen with bruising on his hands and swelling around his ankles. In late August, false rumors that he had died spread on social media after he did not appear in public for several days.
