Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is being slammed as a “dangerous” man who injects “poison into the national discourse at every chance” after he dared to defend his position during a CNN townhall that the riot on Jan. 6 at the Capitol was “the subject of government entrapment.”
Speaking to moderator Abby Phillip on Wednesday, Ramaswamy was asked about his claim during the GOP’s fourth debate that Jan. 6 was “an inside job.”
“Let me ask you about something you said last week in the debate,” Phillip began. “You used the phrase ‘inside job’ to describe what happened on January 6th. The next day, capitol rioter Alan Hostetter highlighted your comments at his sentencing. He is going to prison for 11 years.”
“Hostetter threatened members of Congress,” she continued. “He brought a hatchet, knives, pepper spray, stun batons, tactical gear to the U.S. Capitol. Are you concerned that a convicted felon like that is now promoting your comments in court?”
The Millennial didn’t flinch.
Noting that “it’s close to three years ago that January 6th, 2021, happened” and, at the time, he, as a biotech CEO, was “just consuming passive media,” Ramaswamy replied, “If you had told me that January 6th was in any way an inside job, the subject of government entrapment, I would’ve told you that was crazy talk. Fringe conspiracy theory. Nonsense.”
“I can tell you now, having gone somewhat deep in this, it’s not,” he stated.
“I mean, the reality is this. We do have a government first of all, we have to acknowledge that has lied to us systematically over the last several years about the origin of COVID-19, about the Hunter Biden laptop that we were told was false by 51 CIA experts and otherwise, before we now know that it was true. You could go straight down the list — the Trump-Russia disinformation collusion hoax, all of it,” Ramaswamy explained. “Now we come to January 6th. The reality is we know that there were federal law enforcement agents in that field. We don’t know how many. I think it’s shameful.”
Phillip promptly tried to shut Ramaswamy down, telling him, “I’m going to go ahead and interrupt you here because –“
Ramaswamy stayed the course.
“I know the establishment doesn’t approve of this,” he said. “I know this, but we should be able to talk about this. This is important to talk about.”
The audience, much to Phillip’s chagrin, cheered.
“You’re saying that there were federal agents on January 6th,” Phillip said. “There’s no evidence there were federal agents in the crowd on January 6th.”
“So why, before Congress, when pressed on what the number was, they didn’t say there were none?” he asked. “We’ve seen multiple informants suggesting that there were. We know people who were FBI informants.”
Phillip finally had no choice but to move on.
“Too bad for CNN, we’ll take the TRUTH on Jan. 6 mainstream,” Ramaswamy later wrote on X. “There is clear evidence that there was at the very least entrapment of peaceful protestors, similar to the fake Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot & countless other cases.”
“The FBI won’t admit how many undercover officers were in the field on Jan 6, Capitol police on one hand fired rubber bullets & explosives into a peaceful crowd who they then willingly later allowed to enter the Capitol,” he continued. “That doesn’t add up & the actual evidence turns the prior narrative upside down: if the deep state is willing to manufacture an ‘insurrection’ to take down its political opponents, they can do anything. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.”
Too bad for CNN, we’ll take the TRUTH on Jan. 6 mainstream. There is clear evidence that there was at the very least entrapment of peaceful protestors, similar to the fake Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot & countless other cases. The FBI won’t admit how many undercover officers… pic.twitter.com/SBuc6nnymg — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 14, 2023
CNN’s Oliver Darcy couldn’t stand the thought of his network allowing Ramaswamy the opportunity to speak to a live audience.
Prior to the candidate even taking the town hall stage, Darcy blasted his network in CNN’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter for “helping to legitimize the dishonest GOP presidential hopeful who has spewed dangerous lies and injected poison into the national discourse at every chance.”
“The notion that the infotainer, who CNN has reported ‘struggles for relevance’ as he polls in the low single digits and remains exceedingly unlikely to be the Republican Party’s nominee, deserves an hour-long national platform to sell his personal brand and insidious talking points to the masses taxes the imagination,” Darcy fumed.
“Why would any major news network help to validate such a preposterous figure by putting him on stage and allowing him to infect the public with his conspiracy campaign?” he cried.
If CNN insisted that the man be able to speak his mind, they should have taped the interview, Darcy argued — the only purpose for which, one must assume, would be to selectively edit what he had to say.
“Some might say that it’s important for Ramaswamy’s rhetoric to be interrogated by the press instead of allowing it to spread unchecked in the darkness. Sunshine is the best disinfectant, these people might say,” Darcy wrote. “That might be, but if that is the aim, there are other ways to expose his dishonesty to the public, such as a taped interview.”
“It’s hard to see how a town hall is the best format to accomplish that goal,” he insisted. “Instead, handing Ramaswamy a microphone and putting him on a stage affixed with CNN’s iconic branding to answer audience questions helps validate him and provides oxygen to the menacing wildfire of delusions he has pushed into the public discourse.”
On X, many had a very different take on the matter.
Ramaswamy “just absolutely destroyed the mainstream narrative on January 6th on CNN,” wrote political strategist Joey Mannarino.
“This is the kind of energy we need from people when discussing this issue,” he stated. “Take notes, downballot candidates!”
“They can’t handle his unapproved response,” wrote another X user. “Watch the CNN host have a spastic meltdown every time he tries to make a rational, factual point.”
“The truth about January 6 is best told by @VivekGRamaswamy above anyone else running for President right now,” said a third. “CNN could not handle this answer one bit. Surprised they didn’t cut the signal!”
.@VivekGRamaswamy just absolutely destroyed the mainstream narrative on January 6th on CNN. This is the kind of energy we need from people when discussing this issue. Take notes, downballot candidates! pic.twitter.com/zYH4Sp1SQ0 — Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) December 14, 2023
CNN has @VivekGRamaswamy on and asks him about the feds involvement in J6. They can’t handle his unapproved response. Watch the CNN host have a spastic meltdown every time he tries to make a rational, factual point. pic.twitter.com/8V7VDR5Al4 — Still Boneless (@still_boneless) December 14, 2023
The truth about January 6 is best told by @VivekGRamaswamy above anyone else running for President right now. CNN could not handle this answer one bit. Surprised they didn’t cut the signal! pic.twitter.com/QXxa9SZmPT — Ada Lluch (@ada_lluch) December 14, 2023