Democrat Confronts RFK Jr. Over Tweet Saying He ‘Won’t Take Sides on 9/11’: ‘Do You Find It Hard To Tell What Is a Conspiracy Theory’
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Thursday confirmation hearing with an X post in which he said he would “not take sides on 9/11.”
Kennedy went through his first hearing with the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday before submitting to another round of questioning on Thursday. Kaine opened his questions by making note of the Washington, D.C. plane crash on Wednesday night that led to dozens of deaths. From there ,he brought up 9/11 and its effect on his state of Virginia. The senator then pulled out a blown up image of an X post from Kennedy about 9/11 from last year.
“My take on 9/11: It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t. But conspiracy theories flourish when the government routinely lies to the public. As President I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates. But I can promise is that I will open the files and usher in a new era of transparency,” Kennedy wrote.
Kennedy, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote on X that he was referring to a CBS report on possible Saudi involvement in the 9/11 terror attacks.
“Speculation about what our government may be covering up is rife outside the mainstream of our political culture. Trust it government is at an all-time low. The way to restore that trust is through honesty and transparency. That is my promise, and that is what will resolve any questions about 9/11, UAPs, and other contentious topics. I am personally agnostic on those issues. My issue is TRANSPARENCY,” he wrote.
Kaine repeated Kennedy’s “won’t take sides on 9/11” line multiple times while asking him why he felt the need to put out that tweet at all in the middle of a presidential election.
“My father told me when I was 13 years old, he said, people in authority lie and that the job of a citizen in every democracy is to maintain a fear and skepticism of government authority,” Kennedy said.
Check out the exchange below:
TIM KAINE: We take that kind of stuff pretty personally. Virginians know what happened on 9/11. We don’t need folks giving oxygen to conspiracy theories about 9/11. Now one thing I noticed about this post is it was in July of 2024. It was 23 years after 9/11. You had a lot going on in your life. You were running for president then. What made you decide in the midst of everything going on in this country, in this world, in July of 2024 and your own candidacy for president, that now was the time to say it’s hard to tell what is conspiracy and what isn’t about 911. What was so important about making this point in July of 2024.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.: Senator, the dramatic drop in trust in our government and this is particularly at one of the templates of what happened at the CDC—
KAINE: No, no, no. I want to move aside from that because you say, you go on to say, I won’t take sides, as president, I won’t take sides on 9/11. Wow. I won’t take sides on 9/11. Let me ask you this. As a general matter, do you find it hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t? Is that kind of a general deficit that you find in your own analytical abilities.
KENNEDY: My father told me when I was 13 years old, he said, people in authority lie and that the job of a citizen in every democracy is to maintain a fear and skepticism of government authority.
KAINE: And you’re an authority, but you won’t take sides on 9/11 and you’re admitting, you know, I have a hard time telling what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t.
KENNEDY: Senator, I have investigated. In the things I investigate, I take sides on. People are allowed to hold that opinion. I’m not going to tell them they’re crazy for holding that opinion. I’m going to say, what is your evidence? And if I hear the evidence, I’m going to say, that doesn’t make any sense.
KAINE: So, you won’t take sides on 9/11? Wow.
Watch above via CSPAN.
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