GOP candidate claims ‘The Atlantic’ took previous quotes out of context
GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Monday that the U.S. government has lied in its official narrative about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and that Americans “deserve the truth.”
Mr. Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old candidate whose poll numbers have steadily increased in recent weeks, told CNN that The Atlantic misquoted him about 9/11 and said he was instead referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach when he mentioned the involvement of federal agents.
During a contentious exchange with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, the businessman was asked about his comments made during an interview last month. He said he was misquoted and said he believes there was no inside job—but that Saudi Arabia was involved in the attacks, and that the U.S. government covered it up.
“The truth is there are lies the government has told about 9/11. But it’s not the ones that somebody put in my mouth,” Mr. Ramaswamy told the channel. “It’s the one that I articulated, which is that Saudi Arabia, absolutely, their intelligence was involved in 9/11. And that’s a difficult thing you’re not supposed to say. The facts back that up.”
He added: “The comments I made, the ones you just played, are indeed, what I believe, which was not that 9/11 was an inside job, but that Saudi Arabia absolutely was involved. And our government, for 20 years, lied to the American people, about it. I am guilty as charged that I do not follow the Establishment Super PAC donor-approved script, on these questions. But I am speaking truth, grounded in fact, at every step of the way.”
Speaking separately to the news outlet Semafor, Mr. Ramawamy said that the quote mentioned in The Atlantic article wasn’t “exactly what I said.” He continued to say: “It was a very free-flowing conversation, so I’m not blaming the reporter—but the real question I have about undercover federal agents is on Jan. 6, 2021, not 9/11.”
