- Vivek Ramaswamy is again raising questions about what happened on September 11, 2001.
- The GOP contender says it's "legitimate" to ask "how many federal agents" were on the planes.
Vivek Ramaswamy is once again Just Asking Questions about what happened on 9/11.
In an interview with the Atlantic, the GOP presidential candidate spontaneously turned to the subject during an exchange about whether Americans know the "truth about what really happened" during the January 6 assault on the Capitol.
"I don't know, but we can handle it," said Ramaswamy. "Whatever it is, we can handle it. Government agents. How many government agents were in the field? Right?"
He then pivoted to September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked four jetliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania — killing close to 3,000 people.
"I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers," he said. "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," he continued. "Well, if we're doing a January 6 commission, absolutely, those should be questions that we should get to the bottom of."
He later insisted that he didn't think the two events "belong in the same conversation" and that it's "ridiculous" to compare them — but continued to insist that he wants the "truth" about that day.
"I am not questioning what we — this is not something I'm staking anything out on," he said. "But I want the truth about 9/11."
It's not the first time Ramaswamy has expressed outside-the-mainstream views on 9/11.
The GOP candidate has previously made clear he does "not believe everything the government has told us about that day" and pointed to evidence of Saudi involvement in the attack.
"And yes, a Republican candidate for President really just said that,"
—Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 9, 2023
While there is some evidence of potential Saudi involvement, there's no evidence to suggest that federal agents were involved. In the two decades since the attacks, self-proclaimed "truthers" have argued — falsely — that the government was involved or had detailed advance knowledge of impending terrorist attacks.
Ramaswamy, a former tech entrepreneur, is drawing increased scrutiny as he rises in the polls; he's currently polling third in the Republican presidential primary behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and some recent polls have shown him running even with the Florida governor.