Chelsea Clinton was jogging around the World Trade Center on September 11
| Chelsea Clinton was jogging around the World Trade Center on September 11 | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "Hillary Clinton said her daughter Chelsea was jogging around the World Trade Center when the planes hit on September 11, 2001." | |
| Domain | Disasters & Emergencies |
| Tactic | Fabrication |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 2001 |
| Origin | Hillary Clinton's interview on NBC's "Today" show, September 2001 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
| Further reading: books on Disasters & Emergencies | |
In a September 2001 interview on NBC's "Today," Senator Hillary Clinton said her daughter Chelsea, who was in New York that morning, had gone out to get coffee and "to go around the towers" and had "heard the plane hit."
Chelsea Clinton's own account, published a few months later, said she was in a friend's apartment miles away and learned about the attacks by phone and television.
What the evidence shows
- Chelsea's account. In an essay in the December 2001 issue of Talk magazine, Chelsea Clinton wrote that she was at a friend's apartment near Union Square when a friend called and told her to turn on the television.
- Distance. Union Square is more than two miles north of the World Trade Center site.
- A parent's fear. The first account came in the days after the attacks, when many New Yorkers' stories were confused. It has been cited since as an example of Clinton embellishing personal stories.
Why it matters
Personal stories told in the aftermath of a disaster are often confused. This one was contradicted by the person it was about, writing in her own words.
Sources
- NBC News, "Today," interview with Senator Hillary Clinton, September 2001.
- Chelsea Clinton, essay in Talk magazine, December 2001.
- The Washington Post, "Chelsea's Account Differs From Mother's," November 2001.