RFK Jr.’s New Campaign Pitch: ‘I Won’t Take Sides on 9/11’
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken a bold stance on 9/11 conspiracy theories: he won’t actually pick a side.
After a rollercoaster week during which Kennedy faced allegations of sexual assault and of having eaten a dog, while publicly declaring that he would never engage in cannibalism, the candidate decided that adding a hot 9/11 take to the fire was his next move.
“My take on 9/11: It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t,” Kennedy wrote Friday on X, formerly Twitter. “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.”
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…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 5, 2024
Kennedy wrote that not only will he not take sides on 9/11, he will also refrain from voicing an opinion on “any of the other debates.”
In a follow-up post, Kennedy attempted to clarify that he was “referring here to the CBS 60 Minutes segment last Sunday revealing possible Saudi involvement in 9/11, sparking all kinds of speculation on X.”
Last month, ABC News’ 60 Minutes obtained recently unsealed footage showing Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national with links to the 9/11 hijackers, scouting out the exterior of the U.S. Capitol and other prominent monuments in Washington, D.C., in 2009. “I think he’s talking to the al Qaeda planners who tasked him to take the pre-operational surveillance video of the intended target,” retired FBI Agent Richard Lamber told 60 Minutes.
The 2004 9/11 Commission Report found “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded Al-Qaeda.” In the almost 24 years since the attack, families of the victims have called for further investigations into alleged connections between the Saudi government, and the planning of the attack. While questions remain regarding individual Saudi nationals like al-Bayoumi’s relationship to two of the 9/11 hijackers, there isn’t much evidence supporting broader conspiracies alleging the United States government covered up the Saudi government’s involvement in the orchestration of the attack.
The lingering questions surrounding the planning of the attack are just the surface of 9/11 conspiracies boosted and embraced by Kennedy. In September of last year, Kennedy teased his belief in conspiratorial claims that Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapsed not because two massive skyscrapers fell on top of it, but because of some other unexplained reason.
“I don’t know what happened on 9/11. I mean, I understand what the official explanation is. I understand that there is dissent. I have not looked into it. I haven’t examined it. I’m not a good person to talk to about it,” Kennedy told Peter Bergen of In the Room With Peter Bergen. “I know there’s strange things that happened.”
When asked what “strange things” he was referring to, Kennedy replied that “one of the buildings came down that wasn’t hit by a plane. So, you know, was it Building 7 or Building 10?”
Bergen attempted to clarify that the building collapsed because of structural damage caused by the debris that rained down on it from the two towers. Kennedy pressed on: “There’s pictures of it collapsing. There’s nothing collapsing on top of it. I mean, listen, I don’t want to argue any theories about this because all I’ve heard is questions. I have no explanation. I have no knowledge of it. But what you’re repeating now, I know not to be true.”
If you don’t know, maybe don’t say anything — especially if you’re trying to be president. It’s a lot to ask of Kennedy, whose career and aspirations for elected office have been defined by his conspiratorial proclivities. Kennedy has long been known for his belief that vaccines cause autism. Over the course of his campaign, he has claimed that Covid-19 was “targeted to attack caucasians and Black people,” and to avoid infecting “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” He falsely suggested in June of last year that vaccine research was responsible for the creation of diseases like HIV, the Spanish Flu, and Lyme disease.
While Kennedy may post that as president he won’t “take sides” in any debate, and simply “usher in a new era of transparency,” it’s already abundantly clear where he stands on most issues.
More from Rolling Stone
RFK Jr. Doesn't Deny Alleged Sexual Assault of Babysitter: 'I Am Not a Church Boy'
Is Nicole Shanahan Flirting With QAnon and Christian Nationalism?
Best of Rolling Stone
