Jeff Pearlman's Prescient Pearls of Wisdom on Trump & 9/11

On July 21st, sportswriter Jeff Pearlman posed this question to country musician Charlie Daniels on Twitter:


Charlie, question: In the aftermath of 9.11 Trump repeatedly said he helped w 9.11 recovery. Said he was digging at rubble. Said he sent "his men" to assist. All well-documented lies. Where's your patriotism?


Pearlman did not get a response. Perhaps Daniels was meeting with the devil down in Georgia. The following day he added:

Guys like @CharlieDaniels put forth this proud-to-be-American mojo. Flags, trucks, BBQs. But they’re tragically lazy when it comes to looking under the hood. Wanna know @realdonaldtrump? Read how he treated contractors, homeless vets, 9.11 responders. Know your shit.

On July 24th, Pearlman implored the DNC to make Trump's 9/11 claims a central issue of the election campaign:


I beg the @DNC to make an issue—THE issue—of @realdonaldtrump lying about helping with Ground Zero search and rescue. Swift Boat him with it. Drill it home. Issue of honor, patriotism, honesty. Take back the Captain America bullshit #hewasntthere #trumpwasntthere


Well, five days later, President Trump says this in the Rose Garden of the White House after signing the extension of the 9/11 Victims Fund:

Needless to say, Pearlman was on Trump's comments in a New York minute:


So that’s the president of the United States, insisting that he was “down there with you” in the aftermath of the greatest domestic attack in modern United States history. At other moments, the president has claimed he was helping with the digging through the rubble. He has said he sent hundreds of “my men” to Ground Zero to assist with the recovery (not one has ever stepped forward, and no officials with the recovery effort can recall this). He also has claimed that, as the towers fell, he saw (with his own eyes on television!) thousands of Muslims celebrating atop buildings in Jersey City. He also also claimed that he watched people jumping from the towers—even though he was four miles away at the time. He also took $150,000 in funding allocated to help small businesses impacted by the tragedy. He said he lost hundreds of friends on 9.11—but attended nary one 9.11-related funeral. Oh, and as 9.11 was unfolding he went on TV and boasted of now having Manhattan’s tallest building.


I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: This is Donald Trump’s Swift Boat. His Willie Horton. The Democrats keep flailing around for arrows that will stick into the president. Well, here’s your arrow. What sort of thing lies about 9.11? About being there? About helping with the search? About hiring men to help with the search? What sort of thing lies about friends lost? What sort of thing claims funds for repairs he didn’t need? What sort of thing brags about now having the tallest building?


Some disclosure. We've never met in person, but we follow each other on Twitter and occasionally communicate. Indeed, we tend to disagree with each other as we did last night following the mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California. But Pearlman is dead on here not only in his analysis, but in his prescience. Trump lied about providing assistance after 9/11 - an act of war. This is dishonorable as it comes and Trump is plenty dishonorable. If we do not oust him from office for this lie then we not only dishonor those who died that day, but we dishonor any respect for the God's honest truth. Turning a blind eye to this means accepting lying as a virtue.


By boasting about his "efforts" at Ground Zero, Trump has now opened the door for scrutiny on his conduct in the aftermath of 9/11. He wasn't there. If Democrats are smart enough to use this cudgel against Trump and it results in his defeat then we will have Jeff Pearlman to thank for making Trump a one term President.