Texas Senator Ted Cruz faced backlash after defending President Donald Trump's account of events during the 9/11 attacks. Cruz was criticized as a "bootlicker" for quickly supporting Trump over a disputed anecdote. The president gave a speech on Tuesday at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., where he described an experience of being helped to safety by two firefighters after the 9/11 terror attack. Trump said he was "creaked" by the United States Steel Building in Manhattan days after the attack and was escorted out by two "big, strong" firefighters who "grabbed me under the arm" and "literally lifted me up." He said he was able to run on his own but the firefighters thought the building was about to collapse. This story has been told by Trump at least twice before—once in 2016 and again in 2021—despite no evidence supporting its occurrence. CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins questioned Cruz about the story on The Source on Wednesday. Cruz responded by emphasizing that Trump, a New Yorker, had a deep connection to the events of 9/11 and that he believed Trump's account was genuine. His comments drew criticism from various figures, including leftist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who referenced a past controversy in which Cruz’s official Twitter account liked a clip from an adult film on September 11, 2017. Piker suggested this made Cruz's defense of Trump less credible. Chess champion Garry Kasparov remarked that "if you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything," highlighting the issue of truthfulness in political narratives. The Bulwark’s founder, Sarah Longwell, said there was a "genuine competition" for which Republican had most compromised their integrity in supporting Trump, and she claimed Ted Cruz had "a bullet" in that race. Others labeled Cruz a "coward," a "suck-up," and a "disgrace" for defending Trump, who had previously insulted Cruz’s wife during their 2016 GOP presidential campaign. Trump responded strongly to the criticism, attacking New York Magazine and New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman in a long post on Truth Social. He defended his 9/11 record and his decision not to return to New York for the 25th anniversary commemorations. Instead of joining his four presidential predecessors—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden—at Ground Zero, Trump will be at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. His absence from New York has drawn further scrutiny and debate over his relationship with the city and its residents, especially in the wake of the 9/11 anniversary.