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Trump Trade War With Canada Escalates; Trump Speaks at 9/11 Commemoration Event. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 08, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yet this battered piece of steel here today on the Ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer, and no terror can destroy.

For three months after September 11, the flames raged in the rubble of Ground Zero. For nine months, rescue and recovery crews worked day and night on the site. I want to just thank my people. I took -- a lot of my -- I was building a big building in New York, and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened.

And they were -- they had no hesitation. Everybody went down with me. We went down as a big group of people. Wasn't too much we could do, I will be honest. It was raw. Nobody's seen anything like it ever.

We had other buildings. The United States Steel building was creaking, really creaking. And we thought it was going to fall down. The truth is, it creaked a lot. It creaked. It still creaks. But it never came down. And I remember. I will never forget, two firemen -- we thought it was coming down on top of us and two firemen, big strong guys -- and I'm not the smallest guy in the world.

They grabbed me under the arm and said, "Got to get out of here." And they literally lifted me up. This is not easy to do. I'm big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said: "Fellows, I can run myself."

But they were amazing, but they thought it was coming down. It didn't come down, U.S. Steel. The 16,000-pound beam lifted from the records of the South Tower will forever testify to the courage and resilience and spirit of a city and a nation that saw our homeland struck, our towers knocked down, and stood back up stronger, more determined and more united than ever before.

And I tell you, I have to give New York a whole lot of praise, because they started that -- you call it demolition. The demolition had taken place, but you call it demolition. They had the best demolition contractors anywhere in the world. I know all of them from being in the business.

And I have never seen such an unbelievable mass of steel, and, unfortunately, bodies and everything you can imagine. The job they did on cleaning up the site, they wanted to do it fast. They wanted to get it done. And I don't think there's any other place in the world that could have done the job that was done by the people, the construction workers, demolition experts, the police, the military.

Nobody could have done the job that was done on getting it started. And the first thing to get it started, they had to clean it up. And this was a -- it looked like it was a mile high. The rubble looked like it was a mile high. That's a piece of it.

When we see the steel, we're reminded that, no matter what threat or challenge comes our way, America will fight, America will endure, and America will prevail, and nothing can keep our country down, and our country is stronger today than it's ever been before.

We have the highest stock market that we have ever had. We have the most people working that we have ever had. We have never had employment like it is right now. We have the most people working today that we ever had.

And when you looked at something like took place on September 11, you say, I wonder if we could ever get back to a level of greatness. Well, we have done it. For the past few months, Tunnel to Towers has taken the steel across the nation to remind Americans of what we overcame that day and what our heroes did.

And, on September 11, 23 members of the New York Police Department, 37 members of the Port Authority police, three court officers, and 343 members of the New York Fire Department made the ultimate sacrifice, and they knew what they were getting into. They saw it. They knew what was going to happen.

They were running up those stairs, and they knew what was going to happen. There wasn't one of them that thought otherwise. The bravery is really incredible. But their photos are all around us today of these incredible people, men and women, but just incredible, brave people.

You never know about bravery until you really test it. You don't know. We're deeply honored to be joined this morning by more than 150 first responders from New York, along with dozens more from Washington, D.C., Arlington, and Pennsylvania, who carry on the mission of their fallen comrades.

I have been to all three. I speak to all three on every -- we pick one or sometimes two, and we speak on that very special day. And we're also joined by more than 200 proud members of the United States military who were there, and some were not there, and some are here just because they want to honor the people that were.

Would you all stand up, please? Everybody, please stand up.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: That's great. Anybody that was there. Great. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

[11:05:06]

But these are the men and women who lifted our country from the rubble. Every day, they go to work knowing that they might not come home. Think of it, for 25 years since 9/11, and they have kept us safe and free. And we thank you and we salute you. Our law enforcement is so incredible.

Our law enforcement holds our country together, in light of some threats. We have some very real threats right now. We have people that want to go a different way. They want to go a communistic way. Well, that's not going to work. Number one, we're not going to let it happen, but that's not going to work.

One New York firefighter at Ground Zero was Jeffrey Palazzo, a member of the elite Rescue Squad 5 from Staten Island, a place I love, Staten Island, and a U.S. Coast Guard Reservist. Before September 11, he had already saved many lives. That day, he had 10 other members of the rescue squad.

That's what he did. He rescued people, and he was a legend before September 11. But him and the other members of Rescue Squad 5 died at the World Trade Center while fighting to rescue fellow New Yorkers. And, today, I'm proud to announce that, this weekend in New York, the Coast Guard will commission a brand-new, beautiful -- I bought it myself.

I negotiated the price. It was very expensive. I didn't want to negotiate too hard in honor of him. But brand-new Coast Guard will -- they're going to commission a beautiful brand-new Fast -- it's called Fast Response Cutter, the most incredible kind of ship you will ever see. It can go through anything.

They go out into waves that are five times bigger than it. And they come back. I don't know how they do it, but they come back. But this is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Jeffrey Palazzo. So we honor him with this very important tribute, to me, very important.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Where is the family? The family, the Palazzo family is here. Thank you. Thank you very much. Incredible.

Today, we also remember another hero of 9/11. After the plane hit the South Tower, a group of people on the 78th floor were trapped with broken bones, charred skin, and eyes and lungs filled with black smoke. Death was all about them. It was certain. They were sure they were going to die.

Then, suddenly, a rescuer appeared. They call him the man in the red bandana. Have you heard that term, the man in the red bandana? He has become more famous than me. I don't like it. Very unhappy, but he's become much more famous than me.

No, he's the man in the red bandana. He had found the only stairwell that barely survived. The stairwells were all knocked down. You couldn't get by, impassable. He found an opening in one of the stairwells. And the impact was so great, there was no other way down, but this one little opening, this one little hole, and traveled down from the 104th floor to look for those trapped and dying.

When he heard cries for help on the 78th floor, he began extinguishing the fires, blocking the exit, directing survivors who could walk, of which there weren't that many. He helped some out physically. They literally pulled them out toward the only working stairwell and carried those who couldn't walk.

And he just did things that people said were not even imaginable because they knew they were dead. They said, we're goners. One guy was screaming, we're goners, we're goners. He didn't know that those he helped, and nor who would have known, but he willingly made all of these trips up and down, up and down, up and down, over and over again, saving life after life.

That rescuer was a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter from Rockland County named Welles Crowther. And Welles' father, also a firefighter, great firefighter, had given him that bandana as a very special tribute when he was a boy. Probably knew something about his son.

When asked why he always kept it, Welles replied: "With this red bandana, I'm going to change the world. I'm going to change the world with this bandana." Little did he know. On September 11, Welles saved many, many people before losing his own life in the South Tower lobby when the building came down.

He was in the lobby, and that building came down, thousands of tons of steel. Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day, it is my privilege to award the very special, the highest honor that we give, highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

[11:10:14]

We want to award that to Welles and Welles' family. Welles is up there looking down at his mom and his sisters, family. So I would ask his mother, Alison, and sister Paige. If Paige and Alison came up, we will present them with not only the medal, but we will also present them with a very important designation, very, very important. Please.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

ALISON CROWTHER, MOTHER OF WELLES CROWTHER: Thank you so very much, Mr. President, for this enormous honor that you have bestowed upon my son Welles in remembrance of his selfless actions on September 11. This means the world to me, my daughters, Paige and Honor, and our entire family.

This will be treasured for generations to come. Over the years, we have been blessed by the love and support of family and friends, many of whom are with us this morning. I would also like to thank Rachel Duchi, whose concept it was to

prepare a proposal to bring to the president for this honor, and for Congressman Mike Lawler, who did so much to keep the energy going and bring it to the attention of the president.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWTHER: Really, thank you.

Walking into this site and seeing all the faces of the firefighters lost is really just so powerful and moving. And the work that the Siller Institute does through Tunnel to Towers is so important to keep knowledge going of what happened on September 11. So we really -- we salute you, Frank, and your organization for this great work.

Welles' -- that Welles' light still shines brilliantly today, even after 25 years, is testament to his legacy of courage, compassion, and love for humanity that continues to inspire and uplift others. Welles, however, would not have been able to do what he did as effectively on 9/11 if it had not been for the training and experience he gained as a member of Empire Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 of Upper Nyack.

Empire is a volunteer company, and the members are fully trained firefighters. They have other jobs and responsibilities, businesses to run, and their own families. But when the alarm goes off at any time, day or night, they respond to the call to save life and property.

This is a calling. And Welles, following in the footsteps of his father, Jefferson, joined Empire at the age of 16. He was no longer an equities trader on 9/11. He was a firefighter. Members of Empire Hook and Ladder Company have joined us today, and I would like to recognize and thank them.

If you would please stand where you are. There they are. Wonderful.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWTHER: Thank you, gentlemen. Such a support.

My family has grown over the years, not only my own family, but the family of friends Welles grew up with in Boston and Boston College friends and the fire department. We're all like one big family, and it's such a beautiful thing.

Welles continued his spiritual growth in service at Boston College, whose motto is "Men and women for others." In the months that followed 9/11, we established the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust and continue with our work today, both charitable and educational.

[11:15:10]

Over 10 years, working with a team of distinguished educators led by Vernoy Paolini, the Red Bandana Project was created. Social and emotional learning lessons on leadership, caring for others, team, the power of one, bridging divides, forgiveness, and carpe diem were the subjects for elementary through high school students. This year, the Red Bandana Project has been updated and digitized by

Dr. Kevin Holbrook, who is here today as well.

Thank you. Dr. Holbrook.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWTHER: These lessons are available for downloading free of charge on our Web site, WellesCrowtherTrust.org.

As I travel around the United States speaking at schools, I see firsthand how young people are impacted and inspired by Welles, his example and legacy, to be better, kinder, and more caring of others; 25 years after September 11, his life continues to remind us of something very simple.

In moments when others need us, each of us has the power to choose courage, compassion, and service. That's the real meaning of the red bandana, to be courageous, to find the good, to be the good.

Again, thank you, Mr. President. We are profoundly grateful for your very special honor of Welles.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWTHER: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWTHER: Thank you very much.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

So, a while ago, years, I promised mom and sister that Welles was going to get the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And we didn't forget. So we didn't forget. We never forget. So it's good, and really deserves it.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Again, this has been an honor to be involved with Frank and the whole group that does such an incredible job of helping so many people. And it's very special. On the Ellipse, very few things are allowed to be touched. I don't know if you know this is very important soil. They don't allow things like this to happen, except for very special events.

And this is a -- to me, this is a very special event, Frank. And the job you have done is great. The job your people have done is amazing. And even the proficiency -- they were saying how well everything was run, and it has been, and you even worked out great weather. I think Welles gave us the weather, right? Welles is looking down. He gave us the weather.

So I just want to end by saying, God bless you. Our country is bigger, better, stronger than ever before. We have a great country. We're going to keep it that way, and we appreciate it. It's my honor to be with you, and we will see you again soon.

Congratulations. Thank you very much, everybody.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: We just heard President Trump speaking at the Tunnel to Towers event on the Ellipse honoring 9/11 first responders, and, as you just saw there, saying he is following through in a promise to give the Presidential Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award, to Welles Crowther, that 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer in that famous picture with the red bandana going to save many lives on 9/11.

He died, but he's being honored here today. You heard from his mother there speaking at the podium.

I want to go now to CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein, who is at the Ellipse.

And, Betsy, President Trump seemed to really stick to the script for the most part in his speech.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, he did stay remarkably on script during this event, President Trump honoring the sacrifice and service of those lost at Ground Zero and here at the -- nearby at Pentagon nearby at the Pentagon on September 11, as the nation prepares to commemorate that solemn 25th anniversary.

Now, the president recognized members of his Cabinet, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was working at Cantor Fitzgerald. He lost 650 colleagues, as well as his brother. He was actually taking his son to school that morning and was not there when the tower was struck.

He said -- the president reflecting on that day himself, he said he looked out the window and "I saw things I never wanted to see again." He also reflected on personally going to Ground Zero.

And then he also referenced this steel beam behind me. This is a 21- foot-long -- it's nearly 17,000 pound of medal from the South Tower that has been traveling across the country to key sites, including here on the Ellipse, as well as Emma Booker Elementary School, where President Bush was reading with students on that morning, as well as the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

[11:20:11]

The president saying that steel beam is a testament to the courage and resilience of New York and the country. He praised New York's response and recovery. He also talked about the very emotional images that we saw as we walked inside this event honoring each of the nearly 400 first responders who lost their lives on that day, calling them brave people. He honored law enforcement and first responders, and then he

referenced the man in the red bandana. That is Welles Crowther. He is a young man who wore a red bandana in the South Tower as he worked to rescue people who were trapped in a lobby on the 78th floor. He made three trips back and forth to make sure that they could be guided to safety before the tower collapsed.

Crowther himself died. President Trump honoring his sacrifice, as he presented the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, to his family. We heard from his mother honoring his sacrifice there and all of the people that he helped.

But, again, this is a moment that is -- as time goes by, we are seeing that so many Americans weren't yet born or do not remember September 11. So, this event and the steel beam behind me both meant to honor the service sacrifice and make sure that we never forget, Pamela.

BROWN: Solemn event there.

Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:26:16]

BROWN: Happening now: tariff retaliation.

Canada's $20 billion worth of tariffs on American goods is officially in effect this morning. And those taxes are expected to impact everything from steel and aluminum to everyday goods like paper products and home appliances.

President Trump is hitting back, posting on social media a threat to ban the sale of some Canadian jets in the U.S. unless they are built in America. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. of not negotiating seriously just days after President Trump renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America.

Carney said in part -- quote -- "When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions."

With us now is former Quebec premier Jean Charest.

Good morning to you. Thanks for coming on.

So, these new Canadian tariffs are in effect today.

JEAN CHAREST, FORMER PREMIER OF QUEBEC, CANADA: Thank you. Yes.

BROWN: Would you consider the U.S. and Canada at this point to be in a full-blown trade war right now?

CHAREST: Well, it it's close to that. But I want to take a moment. I listened to President Trump about 9/11. I just wanted to add that Canadians have a great deal of respect and admiration for the character of the American people and those who lost and gave their lives. And we will grieve with you on the anniversary in a few days from now.

So, back to the tariffs. It is an unusual situation. We're doing counter-tariffs because we feel that we have to respond to an administration who seems to think that Canada should not exist. And it's not because we want to do it.

And we hurt ourselves, by the way, when we do this, Pam, as American American -- the American administration hurts their own consumers when they impose tariffs on Canada. So hopefully we will get past this and avoid escalation and get back to the negotiating table.

But one interesting episode in this is that the president yesterday talks about Canadian jets, the Bombardier jets, which are -- without exaggeration, they're certainly among the best in the world. Did you -- I'm very few people know that Bombardier has 4,500 suppliers; 2,800 of them, the majority, are in the United States, that there is more American content in a Bombardier jet than there is in a Gulfstream jet.

And so, yes, these jets are made in America, to answer the question, and they're done with the best talents from both countries, which explains why they're the best airplanes in the world.

BROWN: So you're saying that, if the U.S. bans these jets, it would hurt Americans as well?

CHAREST: Well, think of Wichita, Kansas, 3,000 employees of Bombardier.

I think Bombardier has suppliers in over half of the American states. And it's an illustration of our relationship. What is different between Canada and United States is that we are -- our economies are very, very integrated, unlike it is with the United States and Europe or Japan or South Korea.

And it does not make sense, if you're that integrated and making things together, to tariff one side, because you're tilting the playing field in one direction. So we are not responding because we think this is a good idea. We're faced with a lot of bad choices, but we're doing it because we feel we have to stand up for our own businesses and our sovereignty.

And our hope, though, Pamela, is that both sides will climb down from this tree and return to the negotiating table as rapidly as possible and that we continue to do all the great things we have done together over the last 20 years, which is to build a competitive economy that is going to allow us to face the rest of the world. I mean, the issue isn't between Canada and United States.