Jake Tapper grills Spencer Pratt on old '9/11 inside job' comments, asks if he regrets statement
WASHINGTON, DC: CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt on Thursday, May 28, over old comments in which he promoted conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.
Pratt, a Republican challenging LA Mayor Karen Bass, is still considered an underdog in the race, but has recently gained support from conservative media figures. His campaign also got a boost after Donald Trump praised him and called him a “big MAGA person.”
During an interview on CNN's 'The Lead', Tapper played a resurfaced 2009 clip from Pratt’s appearance on 'InfoWars,' where he said 9/11 was “100%” an “inside job.”
Jake Tapper questions Spencer Pratt over 9/11 comments
Tapper asked Pratt, “Do you think that 9/11 was an inside job?”
Pratt explained that he now believes the attacks were a result of “negligence of the people in power,” arguing that people in positions of power often fail the public in ways that can lead to deadly consequences.
The Republican candidate said he was only 21 or 22 years old when he made the comments and described himself at the time as “young and naive.”
Jake Tapper asks LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt whether he still believes 9/11 was an inside job pic.twitter.com/8OcjvLMKaP
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) May 28, 2026
Pratt added that his views changed after witnessing what he described as government negligence during a deadly fire in his neighborhood that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures.
“The reality is people in charge fail us as taxpayers, and when you’re listening to that audio, that’s a 21, 22-year-old person. I’m now 42 and have experienced city negligence, state negligence, and I’ve learned a lot about it. It’s actually worse than a conspiracy,” he said.
Spencer Pratt acknowledges '20 years of regret'
Pratt also said he has not revisited the old conspiracy material in nearly two decades, but believes he would view it “a lot d” today with what he called “fresh eyes.”
“Surviving the city’s negligence that burned 12 people in my neighborhood alive, 7,000 structures, and seeing how fast the internet said that was a conspiracy and how I had to be like, no, this is how it happened, this, this and this,” Pratt said, adding that he was sure he would look at “that” differently.
Tapper continued to press Pratt on whether he regretted previously claiming that 9/11 was an inside job.
Pratt acknowledged having “20 years of regret” over the comments, but argued that the remarks no longer reflect who he is today and have no connection to what he described as his current “mission” for Los Angeles.
