Nadler: Trump has "no moral authority to be talking about 9/11"
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House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that President Trump "has no moral authority to be talking about 9/11" after he accepted a $150,000 grant from the Bush administration meant for "small businesses" harmed by the terrorist attack.
"I was instrumental in getting funding for small business grants for victims of 9/11, for people with small businesses in the area. ... Donald Trump actually took a $150,000 grant from the Bush administration. They let him take a $150,000 grant meant for small businessmen for 40 Wall Street. He stole $150,000 from some small businessperson who could have used it to help rehabilitate himself. ... He has no moral authority to be talking about 9/11 at all."
Reality check: According to Politifact, Trump's property at 40 Wall Street was one of more than 14,000 companies to receive grants totaling $530 million after 9/11. Trump himself previously said the building did not suffer physical damages during 9/11, but it was technically eligible for the grant because of economic damages and because the company employed less than 500 people.
The big picture: Nadler was responding to the controversy over a video Trump posted on Twitter, which shows footage from 9/11 spliced in between comments from Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar that many Republicans claim downplay the terrorist attacks.
- Nadler said that while he has had problems with some of the other remarks that Omar has made, he did not take issue with these comments, arguing that she was simply pointing out how 9/11 was used for discrimination and withdrawal of civil liberties from Muslims.
