WASHINGTON — As he signed legislation permanently extending a fund to compensate 9/11 first responders for their injuries and illnesses, President Donald Trump told them he visited the World Trade Center site after the terrorist attacks.

“I was down there also, but I’m not considering myself a first responder,” Trump said. “But I was down there. I spent a lot of time down there with you.”

Accounts at the time put Trump at or near the site after the terrorist attack. But how much time he actually spent there could not be documented.

Nor could Trump’s claim to NBC News right after 9/11 that he helped pay for hundreds of workers to clean up the site be verified by Politifact and other fact-checkers.

WATCH: President Trump says he was "down there [at Ground Zero]," but doesn't consider himself a "first responder" moments before signing 9/11 Compensation Fund bill https://t.co/Ax43BKl3yl pic.twitter.com/IVAwiGRPOy — CBS News (@CBSNews) July 29, 2019

“I have hundreds of men inside working right now, and we’re bringing down another 125 in a little while," he told NBC. "And they’ve never done anything like this before. And they’re hard-working people, but they’ve never seen anything like it.”

In March of this year, Politifact noted: “It is correct that Trump was at least near the site two days after the attacks, but whether he paid hundreds of workers to help in search-and-rescue efforts is less clear."

Trump also told WWOR-TV Channel 9 after the terrorist attack that the Trump-owned 40 Wall St., was now the tallest building in the area. It wasn’t.

Trump also talked about his presence at Ground Zero during the 2016 presidential campaign.

“Everyone who helped clear the rubble — and I was there, and I watched, and I helped a little bit —but I want to tell you: Those people were amazing,” Trump said in April 2016. “Clearing the rubble. Trying to find additional lives. You didn’t know what was going to come down on all of us — and they handled it.”

Trump, a New York City native, also specifically praised the city’s police officers and firefighters on Monday, many of whom were killed responding to the attacks or became ill and died afterwards. He called them “selfless patriots of unmatched character and devotion.”

“I grew up with them so I can tell you that’s absolutely true,” Trump said. “It’s always nice to really know your subject. I know that subject. These are great people."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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