'Silly man': GOP senator skewered by 9/11 responder for promoting conspiracy theory
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) was taken down a peg over his promotion of a long-debunked 9/11 conspiracy theory that he espoused on a far-right podcast Wednesday.
Johnson appeared on The Benny Show to discuss his desire for hearings on 9/11, specifically the destruction of Building Seven, which collapsed hours after terrorists flew jumbo jets into the Twin Towers. Johnson promoted the theory that the attack itself didn't cause Building Seven to collapse.
"There are a host of questions that I want, and I will be asking, quite honestly, now that my eyes have been opened up," Johnson told The Benny Show's podcast.
9/11 first responder John Feal joined CNN's Brianna Keilar, where he called Johnson "a silly man."
"Right now, there's no legislation being done, there's no governing, and they're distracting their base and the American people with nonsense," Feal said. "On the surface, this is silly and pathetic."
Feal added, "If Ron Johnson really wants to know what happened on 9/11, I can meet with him, which, we will be meeting with his office on Tuesday of next week when we're in D.C. I'll let him know that innocent lives were lost on 9/11. Heroes died racing towards those innocent lives, and subsequently, 137,000 people are now sick because of the aftermath of 9/11."
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Feal continued, "Ron Johnson's priorities are backwards. If he truly, really wants to know, he would put humanity first. And, with this administration, with the cuts to NIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) that administers the World Trade Center health program, this just gets worse and worse for those who are sick and dying."
Feal said that there are more than 39,000 people in the World Trade Center Health Program who have cancer.
"Many of them will die because of the cuts that were made," Feal said. "We're in D.C. to get legislation passed. Ron Johnson can start by co-sponsoring S-739, and then I'll have a serious conversation with him. But we're going to meet with his office on Tuesday, and I'm going to let them know that their boss is silly, that their boss is putting conspiracy theories before human life," he said.
"You know, if you go back in history after a historic event, two things happen: conspiracy theories or advocacy," Feal said. "That's what separates me and Ron Johnson. I chose advocacy."