Trump Claims Prior Warning on Bin Laden a Year Before 9/11

President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that he warned about Osama bin Laden as a threat to the U.S. a year before the 9/11 terror attacks during a speech at the U.S. Navy's 250th anniversary celebration in Norfolk, Virginia. Trump cited his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, where he mentioned bin Laden and said he "didn't like it" and warned that "you have to take care of him," although the book did not explicitly call for bin Laden's killing or predict the 9/11 attacks. He criticized the media for not giving him credit, asserting that if others do not acknowledge his foresight, he would "take it yourself." Trump also recalled the U.S. Navy SEALs' successful mission in 2011 to kill bin Laden, emphasizing their role in ending the terrorist's threat. Despite these claims, fact-checkers note that while Trump mentioned bin Laden in his book, he did not foresee or specifically warn of the 9/11 attacks nor demand bin Laden's assassination. Trump has repeatedly made similar assertions about his early warnings on terrorist threats, including after the deaths of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.