It is also worth remembering that Trump flirted with a presidential run in 2000. So, yes, he was a businessman, not a public official. But he clearly had White House ambitions, even then.

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To see how Clinton and Trump appeared in the public eye at the time — not how they would like to be seen now — I have compiled excerpts of media coverage during the weeks after the terrorist attacks.

Hillary Clinton

CNN (Sept. 13): JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joining us now from the Capitol, the senator from the state of New York, Hillary Clinton. Senator Clinton, we have been listening to some heartbreaking stories from people looking for loved ones. Can you bring us any new information about recovery efforts there?

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CLINTON: Judy, they continue. They continue, even as we speak. They will continue as long as it is humanly to hope that we can find any survivors. We had some good news today when we found some of our firefighters and another citizen. So we are far from giving up on this aspect of this search and rescue mission.

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Associated Press (Sept. 13): President Bush has promised New York state $20 billion in aid for the attack that leveled the World Trade Center in New York City, said the state's U.S. senators Thursday.

Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton emerged late Thursday afternoon from a White House meeting with the president, saying he had pledged the additional aid specifically for New York.

The two Democratic senators asked for the amount after touring the devastation in lower Manhattan Wednesday night, accompanied by Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh.

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New York Times (Sept. 22): Of all the unusual political marriages that have resulted from the terrorist attack on America, few are as intriguing as the one between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudolph W. Giuliani.

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The two were bitter rivals for several months last year for the United States Senate. One highlight included the mayor's hopping to Arkansas for a few hours to denounce Mrs. Clinton on what he, not so subtly, pointed out was her true home turf. Mr. Giuliani eventually dropped out of the race when he learned he had prostate cancer, but the animosity between them remained. Jump to the day after two terrorist planes slammed into the World Trade Center, and the two former rivals were sharing a private hug.

Since then, the mayor and the senator from New York have developed a visibly cordial, if not downright warm, relationship, working closely together openly and behind the scenes on things like securing $20 billion from Congress for New York's recovery, comforting stricken families and figuring out how to get the most out of federal agencies assisting in disaster relief. While on their many walking tours of the devastated site, the mayor is often right next to Senator Clinton, at times consulting with her in whispers and, in light moments, elbowing her with a little joke.

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While the new relationship is in many ways an outgrowth of having to look out for New York State's best interests, it also appears to mark Mrs. Clinton's full transition from a former first lady who happened to hold a Senate seat to true federal legislator, with all the rolled-up sleeves that the position entails.

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Associated Press (Oct. 2): So far, Clinton's efforts have been well-received.

"It seems almost crass to say it, but if anyone has profited from this politically it is Hillary Clinton," Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker said. Clinton, he said, has been in the public eye — supporting grieving firefighters, for example — without monopolizing the limelight.

Clinton received her highest approval rating ever, 59 percent, in a Quinnipiac University poll of New York state voters released Tuesday.

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"I think she's handled herself superbly," former New York Mayor Ed Koch said.

Donald Trump

New York Times (Sept. 12): Donald Trump, who owns some 20 buildings in Manhattan, including the 72-story 40 Wall Street, said employees there scrambled over piles of debris a foot or two high to get out and, in many cases, made their way to Brooklyn.

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Mr. Trump said some occupants of his buildings decided on their own to leave, but many opted to stay because of the difficulty finding transportation home. He said he and other building owners would re-examine safety, but he acknowledged how difficult it was to guard against an air attack.

"When they start dealing with airplanes, that's beyond anything you can do but bring in the Air Force to get them before they get you," he said.

Newsday (Sept. 14): Forklifts and small trucks rumble through, as rescuers and doctors jump out of the way. The decks of sailboats moored in the North Cove marina are piled high with dust.

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The workers are so worn out that they barely glance at the sight of Donald Trump, every hair in place and impeccably dressed in a black suit, pressed white shirt and red tie, walking into the plaza with his cellular phone to his ear.

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"No, no. The building's gone," he says into the phone.

New York Post (Sept. 18): At first, Donald Trump didn't want to talk about the terrible events that have changed our city's skyline more than anything the mega-developer has ever erected. But yesterday, we did talk on the phone about what should happen at the site of the World Trade Center.

"Once they get it cleared - and that is going to be a very long process - we will all have a better idea of what can be done on the site," Trump said. "The current mindset is to put up new towers, and I agree with that."

But, he said, they shouldn't be replicas of the downed buildings. "To be blunt, they were not great buildings," he said. "They only became great upon their demise last Tuesday."

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What Trump is thinking of is great, commanding architecture. "What goes up there should be a form of memorial to the dead," he said. "The buildings need to be a soul-soaring statement of our faith in the future."

Trump (who is looking at erecting the world's tallest building in Chicago and who has the world's highest apartment building across from the United Nations) said he didn't think people would be afraid to live or work high up after last week's outrage.

"This is a city largely based on great skyscrapers, and they will always be the essence of New York," he said. "That won't change, just as the character of the people who live here will not be altered by this tragedy."

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New York Post (Sept. 26): Howard Stern has put his shock-jock strength behind the World Trade Center relief effort, getting his legions of fans to donate more than $1.5 million so far to the Twin Towers Fund.

Since last Friday, Stern has urged his loyal listeners to call one of two toll-free numbers and pledge at least $5 to the charity, which was established by Mayor Giuliani. ... Thousands of small donations have poured in, and Stern's well-to-do fans have forked over substantial sums.