Liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman suggested Friday that President-elect Donald Trump has “incentives” to allow a terrorist attack in order to dispel claims of “illegitimacy” surrounding Trump’s election.

“Thought: There was (rightly) a cloud of illegitimacy over Bush, dispelled (wrongly) by 9/11. Creates some interesting incentives for Trump,” Krugman tweeted.

Krugman’s conspiracy theory was met with a mix of disbelief and mockery on Twitter.

Krugman is the first pre-emptive truther. https://t.co/5zfHGXsgd8 — jon gabriel (@exjon) December 16, 2016

Krugman, “The Conscience of a Liberal,” suggesting Trump will orchestrate 9/11-style attack to gain popularity https://t.co/UQYkAA6RWc — David Rutz (@DavidRutz) December 16, 2016

In which Krugman walks right up to line of predicting Trump will stage/allow a major terrorist attack against America for political gain. pic.twitter.com/kdp1kevqQw — Jeff B/DDHQ (@EsotericCD) December 16, 2016

Paul Krugman, beginning and end of 2016 pic.twitter.com/Kvrc20aIN4 — David Freddoso (@freddoso) December 16, 2016

People pay this man for his opinion. https://t.co/X96GgoGRLa — T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) December 16, 2016

Krugman hasn’t been shy about his opposition to Trump. He previously predicted that the stock market would never recover from a Trump presidency, a prediction that so far has been way off. (RELATED: Paul Krugman Says Markets Will ‘Never’ Recover From Trump; Dow Hits Record High)

The Daily Caller has reached out to the Times regarding Krugman’s comment and will update accordingly when they respond.

Follow Hasson on Twitter @PeterJHasson