He's the face of Trump's tariffs. But 9/11 attacks put Howard Lutnick on the national stage

On the greeting of Sept. 11, 2001, Howard Lutnick took his five-year-old lad to schoolhouse for his archetypal time of kindergarten, causing the Wall Street CEO to be a small precocious getting to enactment astatine his World Trade Center bureau successful New York City.

That hold ended up saving the life of Lutnick, who is present the U.S. commerce caput and has go a starring fig successful the existent commercialized warfare with Canada.

But connected 9/11, each 1 of his 658 employees astatine the concern bank Cantor Fitzgerald who were astatine the bureau that morning, including Lutnick's younger brother Gary, were killed erstwhile 1 WTC, the North Tower, was deliberately struck by hijacked American Airlines Flight 11. At the time, the steadfast had 960 employees based successful New York.

Two days later, a grief-stricken and weeping Lutnick appeared connected television, interviewed by then-ABC News journalist Connie Chung. Breaking down several times during the interview, Lutnick described however helium went from infirmary to hospital, searching for employees inactive unaccounted for.

"I don't go to a hospital or get anyone to spell to immoderate hospital and say, 'Find Gary Lutnick for me,'" helium said. "I spell with worker lists and say, 'Here' my list, here's everybody I got, find idiosyncratic connected this list. I don't attraction who they are.'"

Suffered personal, nonrecreational losses

Following the broadcast, Lutnick made different media appearances, astir notably connected CNN with Larry King, and became somewhat of a nationalist figure, representing conscionable 1 of those who had suffered some idiosyncratic and nonrecreational losses.

His representation then certainly contrasts with the 1 Canadians spot now — the confident pitchman for U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs against Canadian exports to the United States.

Since the Feb. 1 announcement by Trump of 25 per cent tariffs connected each goods from Canada and Mexico going to the U.S., Lutnick — whose responsibilities as commerce secretary include imposing commercialized restrictions — has been making the rounds of U.S. media networks, blasting Canada for not doing capable to halt the travel of fentanyl, singing the praises of tariffs but also hinting determination could beryllium some potential exemptions oregon compromises.

(On Thursday, Trump announced helium was pausing tariffs connected immoderate Canadian goods until April 2.)

But adjacent earlier Lutnick became commerce secretary, helium had been an outspoken supporter of Trump's tariff plan, and arsenic portion  of Trump's interior circle, co-chair of his modulation team.

When helium was appointed commerce secretary, Lutnick stepped down arsenic CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, where, according to its website, helium led the steadfast for 4 decades and rebuilt it aft the 9/11 violent attacks.

At that time, the steadfast had offices among the apical 5 floors of the 110-storey North Tower. When the plane flew into floors 93 to 99 of the operation astatine 8:46 a.m., it trapped those radical who worked above.

'We mislaid each idiosyncratic successful our office'

Lutnick's institution lost more employees than immoderate different steadfast successful 9/11 — much than two-thirds of its workforce and much than a 3rd of the full killed astatine the North Tower.

"We mislaid each idiosyncratic successful our bureau ... each the brokers, each the traders, each the salespeople astatine work. We mislaid them all," he said days aboriginal during an interrogation with CNN's Larry King.

Lutnick said that when he was astatine his son's schoolhouse that morning, his telephone kept ringing and disconnecting.

"I aboriginal learned it was my member Gary trying to telephone to accidental goodbye," helium said successful a societal media station past Sept 11, commemorating the attacks.

He besides discovered that his member had called their sister and told her "he wasn't going to marque it and the fume was coming successful and things were bad," helium recounted to King, sobbing.

"And helium called and said goodbye and that helium loved her and for her to archer maine that he, that helium loved me."

Lutnick said erstwhile helium yet arrived astatine the building, helium watched radical fleeing and would "grab and shingle them," asking what level they were on, hoping to find idiosyncratic from floors 101 to 105, wherever Cantor Fitzgerald's offices were located, helium told Chung.

"I knew if I got 1 employee, if 1 idiosyncratic came down from that floor, that I cognize that determination had to beryllium others," helium said.

Lutnick made interaction with idiosyncratic fleeing the gathering from the 91st floor, but thing higher. He was past forced to tally arsenic the 2nd World Trade Center operation began to illness aft being struck by different plane.

He said helium tried to get up of the  elephantine plume of fume but was knocked down underneath a truck. He was wholly covered successful particulate and conscionable walked for hours, yet calling his wife, helium said.

Faced backlash for cutting disconnected paycheques

That affectional and compelling interrogation with Chung engendered widespread sympathy, as it was jarring for the public to spot the CEO of a Wall Street steadfast interruption down.

Yet that sympathy was short-lived. Lutnick soon faced immense scorn when it was learned that just days aft the attacks, helium had chopped disconnected the paycheques of those employees who astatine the clip were missing and presumed dead.

That backlash included disapproval from immoderate of the widows of those employees. Chung did a followup story, this clip interviewing immoderate of the widows who were aggravated with Lutnick's salary termination.

"Don't expect these women to outcry for Lutnick," Chung reported. "Days aft the tragedy, helium did thing they tin neither forgive nor forget."

Lutnick at the time acknowledged helium was getting inquires from widows asking astir the wage for their husbands.

"They telephone maine and they say, 'How travel you can't wage my salary? Why can't you wage my husband's salary? Other companies wage their [dead and missing employees'] salary, wherefore can't you,'" helium told CNN's King.

"But, you see, I mislaid everybody successful the company, truthful I can't wage their salary. They deliberation we're doing thing wrong. I can't wage their salaries," Lutnick said, again weeping.

Yet helium defended that determination to chopped disconnected the paycheques and importune helium had nary choice.

"I needed my bankers to cognize that I was successful control," Lutnick told the New York Times successful a 2011 interview. "That I wasn't sentimental and that I was nary little motivated oregon driven to marque my concern survive."

He made bully connected his pledge to supply the families with 25 per cent of the firm's profits implicit the adjacent 5 years — totalling $180 cardinal US —and wage for their wellness care for the adjacent 10 years.

WATCH | Lutnick suggests tariff talks with Canada could continue:

Meanwhile, immoderate of the household members who had been captious of Lutnick reversed their sentiment and offered praise for his efforts.

Lutnick was capable to rebuild and turn Cantor Fitzgerald and go a billionaire successful the process. But the Sept. 11 attacks, and those mislaid astatine his firm, still remain adjacent to the surface.

Just precocious astatine his confirmation hearing earlier the U.S. Senate's commerce committee, Lutnick choked up arsenic helium recalled the events of that time and those killed.

"I inactive can't accidental it without getting emotional, sorry," helium said.