The Ledge - Trump sets his sights on Ground Zero

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/18/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes

The real estate mogul unveils his own plan to recreate the twin towers in lower Manhattan.
May 18, 2005: 3:19 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Donald Trump unveiled his plan to recreate the twin towers at Ground Zero at a press conference Wednesday, in an attempt to trump the Libeskind plan for a stand-alone Freedom Tower.

The real estate mogul said he aims to build two 111-story buildings, one foot taller than the 1360-foot buildings destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Trump plan would require scrapping the Libeskind plan for a 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, symbolizing the year of American independence, which continues to be hotly debated.

"In a nutshell, Freedom Tower should not be allowed to be built, it's not appropriate for downtown Manhattan, it's not appropriate for Manhattan, it's not appropriate for the United States and it's not appropriate for freedom," Trump said.

"The only thing good about the building, from an architectural standpoint, is the name Freedom Tower," he added.

Trump made clear that he intends to launch a promotional push to gather support for his idea of rebuilding the World Trade Center.

At today's press conference, he stood near a model of the proposed new twin towers. The model has been on display in the lobby of the developer's flagship Fifth Avenue property, Trump Tower.

Trump mentioned that he will draw attention to the proposal during this week's live broadcast of "The Apprentice." The model will "probably" be displayed during the broadcast of the highly rated show, Trump said, "so the whole country can see it."