Ramaswamy enters full conspiracy mode in fourth GOP debate

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy made a splash at the fourth GOP presidential debate, but one that was far from universally well-received.

Ramaswamy promoted a number of ideas widely regarded as fringe conspiracy theories, but ones that he and his campaign maintain are true: the government lied about 9/11, the 2020 election was stolen, climate change is a hoax, among others.

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“If you want somebody who’s going to speak truth to power, then vote for somebody who’s going to speak the truth to you,” he said. “Why am I the only person on the stage at least, who can say that Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job?”

The remarks drew cheers from the audience, though they quieted down as he continued.

“That the government lied to us for 20 years about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in 9/11, that the great replacement theory is not some grand right-wing conspiracy theory, but a basic statement of the Democratic Party’s platform,” Ramaswamy said. “That the 2020 election was indeed stolen by Big Tech. That the 2016 election, the one that [Donald] Trump won for sure, was also one that was stolen from him by the national security establishment in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax that they knew was false.”

Ramaswamy wasn’t done though, invoking the term “hoax” again in order to describe climate change.

“This climate change agenda is shackling this country like a set of handcuffs,” he said. “I said it the first debate and I stand by it — the climate change agenda is a hoax because it has nothing to do with the climate. That’s what we have to see — 98% reduction in the climate disaster-related deaths in the last century. Eight times as many people are going to die from cold temperatures this year than warm ones.”

He then described climate change as a religion.

“If you thought COVID was bad, what’s coming with this climate agenda is far worse. We should not be bending the knee to this new religion,” said Ramaswamy, who has made “God is real” one of his campaign mantras. “That is what it is. It is a substitute for a modern religion. We are flogging ourselves and losing our modern way of life to bow to this new God of climate, and that will end on my watch.”

When reached for comment, Ramaswamy’s team sent a post the candidate posted on X where the candidate expanded on his comments in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, who confronted Ramaswamy in the spin room Wednesday night.

“There is no evidence that [Jan. 6] was an inside job. It was a fringe conspiracy theory that the Trump-appointed FBI director, Christopher Wray, has said over and over is just not true,” Bash said.

Undeterred, the candidate pushed back against Bash’s assertions and posted afterward on X that “there was at the very least entrapment of peaceful protesters.”

Ramaswamy has been fading in the polls since he enjoyed a boomlet of support in September that saw his numbers reach 8.1%. It has trailed off since, and he is now polling below 5% and facing calls to drop out of the race altogether.

It is unclear if Ramaswamy’s bomb-throwing style and embrace of what he describes as speaking truth to power will connect with any new GOP primary voters. Among the GOP field, he has been one of the strongest supporters of Trump, who is far ahead in national polling.

Still, Ramaswamy appears to have captured some attention, both positive and negative, due to his claims on the debate stage.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan praised his New Jersey counterpart Chris Christie for calling Ramaswamy the “most obnoxious blowhard in America.”

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“Last night was good for Chris Christie,” Hogan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “One of the highlights was when he went after Vivek Ramaswamy. Every time he spoke, I wanted to punch him in the mouth, and that’s basically what Christie did.”

On the other hand, the claims seemed to connect with at least some voters. An informal NBC spot poll of 30 Georgians watching the debate found that five thought Ramaswamy won — the most of any candidate onstage. Trump was selected the winner by 18 of the 30 despite not attending.