In the course of his long descent into the gutter, Tucker Carlson has taken another look into 9/11. When he posted his five-part 9/11 Files “truther” series earlier this year, I thought of the 2006 book Popular Mechanics had published debunking the 9/11 conspiracy theories. This year on 9/11, by the way, Popular Mechanics revisted the subject.
James Meigs was the editor of Popular Mechanics when it first took up 9/11 conspiracy theories in the 2006 book. He is now a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. Having met him at a Manhattan Institute event last year, I can also say he is a scholarly and delightful gentleman.
When Carlson posted his series, I wrote Brian and asked him to commission Mr. Meigs to take a look at it and report. Brian said that he was busy with other assignments but would pass it on to him. I didn’t think it would happen.
However, he has come through. City Journal has just posted his analysis of the series in “Tucker Carlson goes full truther.” It is a long but illuminatnig and needed column. The column concludes (link in original):
In 2012, Carlson was surrounded by a group of 9/11 conspiracy buffs outside a political event. The video of the encounter, shot by one of the Truthers, is a time capsule from a different era, one showing a very different Tucker Carlson. As they badger him for his views on “Building 7” and other conspiracy tropes, he engages them with good humor, showing the easy charm that made him a successful broadcaster. But when the Truthers ask him what he would say to the families of 9/11 victims, he becomes withering. “Parasites like you make it much worse for them,” he says. “In order to imply that there’s a conspiracy behind 9/11, you ought to have some evidence,” he goes on. “And you have none. So you should stop.”
Things have changed.
Read the whole thing here.
