President Donald Trump was widely lambasted on social media Tuesday after ranting about a revered hero of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and complaining about the man’s fame.
“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 has become more famous than me. I don’t like it. Very unhappy, but he’s become much more famous than me,” Trump said during a Steele Across America event at the White House.
Welles Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter, was the “man in the red bandana.” He had been working on the 108th floor of the South Tower when United Airlines Flight 175 struck. Although Crowther died when the building collapsed, he is known to have rescued 18 people, leading many to safety from the 78th floor.
His heroics came to light in a 2002 New York Times article, where survivors recounted being saved by the “man in the red bandana.”
“Then, a man with a red bandana covering his nose and mouth suddenly appeared from the wreckage and smoke. He spoke in a calm voice and guided them to a stairway, leading them to safety. The man in the red bandana made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed,” part of Crowther’s memorial page on the 9/11 Memorial website reads.
The memorial page further details that when Crowther’s mother read the story in The New York Times, she knew it had to be her son, as he had carried a red handkerchief since he was a child.
Trump posthumously awarded Crowther the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony.
Critics on social media quickly jumped on Trump’s remarks about Crowther being “more famous” than him. Some criticized the president for being unable to not make every event about him in some way while others urged people not to let Trump’s remarks distract from Crowther’s heroic actions.
See more reactions to Trump’s remarks here: