On Feb. 11, 2024, the @BidenHQ account on X posted (archived), "Seconds after trying to question President Biden's mental acuity, Haley claims that 9/11 happened on 'September 10th.'"
The @BidenHQ account is an official rapid-response presence for U.S. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign.
Seconds after trying to question President Biden's mental acuity, Haley claims that 9/11 happened on "September 10th" pic.twitter.com/9JRMlTXaYF
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 11, 2024
The post referenced a remark made that morning on CBS News' "Face the Nation" by former U.N. Ambassador and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley.
According to the post, Haley mistakenly said the 9/11 terrorist attacks — which took place on Sept. 11, 2001 — occurred on Sept. 10.
However, the context shows that Haley did not say that, so we rate this claim as "False."
According to the CBS News transcript, Haley said these exact words: "The last thing we ever want to do is side with Russia. What we always need to remember is America needs to have friends. After September 10, we needed a lot of friends. We can never get into the point where we don't need friends."
This moment can be watched beginning at the 2:11 mark in this official video upload on the "Face the Nation" YouTube channel:
This remark did not receive widespread attention but was featured in at least two online reports. Those reports lacked the context that follows.
'A Lot of Friends' on Sept. 11
Key to dispelling this rumor is the fact that the U.S. received international support the same day the attacks occurred. In Haley's own words from the Feb. 11 TV broadcast, "After September 10, we needed a lot of friends." The U.S. got "a lot of friends" on Sept. 11, 2001.
For example, on Sept. 12, The New York Times reported, "The world's governments expressed solidarity last night with the United States as a democracy under attack, and European Union foreign ministers and NATO ambassadors planned separate meetings tomorrow to discuss what could be done in a common battle against terrorism."
While it was still Sept. 11 in the U.S., messages received within hours of the attacks also included a telegram from Russian President Vladimir Putin that promised support for retaliation, as well as a message of sympathy from President Jiang Zemin of China.
Haley's Past Mentions of Sept. 10 and 12
Further, in the months prior to Haley's remark, in a section that appeared over and over again in an apparent stump speech, Haley mentioned on multiple occasions the differences between the way Americans may have felt on Sept. 10, the day before 9/11, versus Sept. 12, the day after. That part of her speech referenced the threat of Hamas during the Israel-Hamas war and the security of U.S. borders.
For example, this sentiment was posted to Haley's account on X as far back as Oct. 28, 2023, after she delivered a speech in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The world is on fire. But here in America, we're acting like it's September 10... We need to remember what it felt like on September 12. America has to get this right. For the sake of our brothers & sisters in Israel. For the sake of the American people. #RJCVegas
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) October 28, 2023
Days later, on Nov. 2, 2023, Haley appeared on Fox News and said, "We're acting like it's Sept. 10. And I'm telling you, America better remember what Sept. 12 felt like, because we've got an open border, and we've got terrorists that want to kill us, and we need to start acting like it."
Haley repeated that sentiment about Sept. 10 and 12 in speeches available on C-SPAN's website that were recorded on Dec. 12 (32:29) and 28 (31:44), 2023, and Jan. 16 (21:25) and 19 (22:05), 2024.
In other words, Haley repeatedly made a point of comparing Sept. 10 to Sept. 12, emphasizing they were two very different days, separated by one day: 9/11.
Snopes contacted Haley's campaign by email to ask about the Biden campaign post and will update this story if a response is received.