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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Charlie Kirk Addresses 9/11 Theories: Building 7, Passports, and the Burden of Proof
Charlie Kirk engages in a detailed conversation about 9/11 conspiracy theories, addressing questions about Building 7's collapse, the suspicious discovery of hijacker passports, and allegations of Israeli involvement. Kirk maintains a position of intellectual honesty, acknowledging legitimate questions while demanding rigorous evidence for alternative theories. He challenges theories about Israeli government involvement, examines claims about the art group Gelatin, and discusses the undeniable facts of hijacked planes and passenger deaths. Kirk demonstrates how to navigate controversial historical events by distinguishing between reasonable skepticism and unfounded speculation, emphasizing the importance of the burden of proof when making extraordinary claims.
Charlie Kirk found himself in a detailed discussion about one of America's most controversial historical events: the September 11th attacks. A caller challenged Kirk about his previous responses to 9/11 conspiracy theories, specifically regarding a viral video where Kirk addressed questions about the attacks. The conversation quickly became a masterclass in how to approach controversial theories while maintaining intellectual rigor.
Kirk began by clarifying his actual position. For the record, he noted that while the hijacker passports found at the scene are admittedly the most suspicious part of the entire situation, this doesn't necessarily mean the Israeli government planned the attack. This distinction proved important as the conversation developed.
The Israeli Connection Theory
The caller pressed Kirk on several points related to alleged Israeli involvement. Kirk acknowledged the evidence often cited by conspiracy theorists: five Israelis who were reportedly dancing when they saw the towers fall, according to an eyewitness. These individuals were questioned by the FBI and then sent back to Israel. They later did a television interview where one of them said something questionable but not quite a smoking gun: "We were sent there to document the event."
However, Kirk insisted on a crucial element often missing from conspiracy theories: the burden of proof. He asked fundamental questions that any alternative theory must answer. Were there planes that were hijacked? If yes, who was flying those planes? These questions aren't rhetorical obstacles but essential components of understanding what actually happened.
The Hijackers and Flight Manifests
When the caller suggested that aluminum airplanes cannot melt steel beams and that the hijacking might not be where we need to be looking, Kirk pushed back. He established that planes did hit the towers and that those planes were hijacked at some point. This led to a critical question: who would willingly give up their life to fly a plane into a tower? Kirk's answer: a radical Muslim would.
Kirk emphasized a point often overlooked in conspiracy theories: there were real people on those planes with real manifests. Families lost loved ones who were passengers. These weren't fabrications but documented individuals who died that day. Any theory attempting to explain 9/11 must account for these verifiable facts.
The Gelatin Art Group
The caller introduced a theory Kirk hadn't previously encountered: an Israeli art group called Gelatin who had access to the Twin Towers before the attacks. According to the caller, this group had an art project called "the B thing" and were given unprecedented access to both towers, even more access than employees who worked there daily. There were pictures of them moving giant boxes into the towers, supposedly to hang a mannequin out of one of the windows.
The caller suggested they spent more time in the towers than their stated art project would require. Kirk acknowledged he would look into this claim, demonstrating openness to examining evidence while not jumping to conclusions.
Building 7 and the Passport Mystery
Kirk acknowledged two aspects of 9/11 that have never made complete sense to him: the passports and Building 7. The caller correctly noted that a plane didn't hit Building 7, yet it collapsed. This remains one of the most discussed anomalies of that day. The discovery of hijacker passports on the ground when everything else was incinerated remains suspicious to Kirk.
However, Kirk maintained an important epistemological position: you're allowed to be in the position of not knowing. You can bat down alternative theories and still not have all the answers. This intellectual honesty distinguishes thoughtful skepticism from blind acceptance of conspiracy theories.
Osama bin Laden and CIA Asset Claims
The conversation touched on Osama bin Laden's role. The caller suggested bin Laden was definitely an asset, citing videos of him dancing to Katy Perry and pictures of him playing Counter-Strike on his computer as evidence he was too westernized to be a genuine al-Qaeda terrorist. Kirk pushed back on this reasoning, noting that playing Counter-Strike doesn't make someone a CIA asset, and that bin Laden's hard drive revealed he was indeed a sick individual.
Kirk raised another crucial point: Osama bin Laden took credit for the attacks and blamed America's love of Israel for the reason 9/11 happened. Any theory suggesting Israeli involvement must account for this. Were we working with bin Laden? Was he a CIA plant? Kirk acknowledged these questions take the discussion into very deep territory.
The Importance of Intellectual Rigor
Throughout the conversation, Kirk demonstrated how to engage with controversial theories responsibly. He acknowledged legitimate questions while refusing to make leaps in logic without evidence. He distinguished between finding aspects of the official narrative suspicious and concluding that an entirely different narrative must be true.
Kirk also addressed a critical problem with some conspiracy theories: the man in the viral video that prompted this discussion didn't even claim it was the Israeli government but rather said it was "the Jews." This distinction matters enormously. One is a specific claim about a government operation that could theoretically be investigated; the other is an anti-Semitic smear against an entire people.
Open Questions and Reasonable Doubt
Kirk's position throughout remained consistent: acknowledge what doesn't make sense, demand evidence for alternative explanations, and don't confuse reasonable doubt with proof of a different theory. The passports remain suspicious. Building 7's collapse raises questions. But these legitimate concerns don't automatically validate any particular alternative theory about who orchestrated the attacks.
The conversation illustrated a broader point about how we process controversial historical events. We can maintain intellectual honesty by admitting what we don't know while still requiring rigorous standards of evidence before accepting extraordinary claims. The burden of proof matters, and theories must account for all verifiable facts, not just the anomalies that support a predetermined conclusion.
