Factcheck: How accurate are Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial 9/11 remarks?

Indian-Americanentrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is in the spotlight in US media due to a new contentious issue. However, this instance diverges from his previous outspoken remarks against corporate involvement in political agenda. The whole saga started with a piece in which the 37-year-old multimillionaire was quoted by The Atlantic magazine as having shared quite controversial statements about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Since that initial report, the situation has evolved, with CNN also engaging with the presidential hopeful, seeking an explanation.

So what did The Atlantic say?

In a July conversation with The Atlantic, Vivek Ramaswamy discussed the tragic events of 9/11. He was questioned about the issue of racism in the aftermath of the incident and how there is a prevalent misconception among certain uninformed Americans who associated individuals with brown skin as potential terrorists.

Ramaswamy expressed his thoughts on this matter which has now become a full-blown controversy.

“I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. But if we’re doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to.

"Well, if we’re doing a January 6 commission, absolutely, those should be questions that we should get to the bottom of,” he said. “‘Here are the people who were armed. Here are the people who are unarmed.’ What percentage of the people who were armed were federal law-enforcement officers? I think it was probably high, actually. Right?"Ramaswamy said.

When he was asked about why he spoke of police and federal agents under that light, Ramaswamy said, “Oh yeah, I don’t think they belong in the same conversation,” he said.

“I think it’s a ridiculous comparison. But I brought it up only because it was invoked as a basis for the January 6 commission.”

“I mean, I would take the truth about 9/11. I am not questioning what we—this is not something I’m staking anything out on. But I want the truth about 9/11," he added.

CNN interview questions Ramaswamy overThe Atlantic story

After The Atlantic article was published, CNN interviewed the presidential hopeful for a comment on the controversy, asking him if he indeed made the remarks.

During that interview, he reportedly said that he was misquoted by the magazine.

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As per the American entrepreneur, what he actually said was that on January 6, 2021, the day the US Capitol was attacked by a pro-Trump mob, he believes there were “many federal agents in the field and we deserve to know who they are.”

Ramaswamy also said, “I am telling you the quote is wrong, actually.”

The Atlantic releases recordings

In response to Ramaswamy saying that he was misquoted, the magazine while writing "listen for yourself", released the controversial recordings.

CNN factcheck

In a factcheck done by CNN, the media outlet concluded that the released recordings prove that he was quoted correctly in the article and that The Atlantic "did not put any words in his mouth".

The CNN fact check just made a short mention of how the quote was a bit different but it does not, in any way, can be labelled as a misquote.The only minor difference in the quote was an additional "Like, I think we want…".

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