Vivek Ramaswamy Downplays Trump’s Role On Jan. 6 After Old Comments Condemning Trump’s ‘Abhorrent’ Behavior Resurface
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
Old comments from Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy resurfaced after he downplayed former President Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol.
During an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson at the Family Leadership Summit on Friday, Ramaswamy blamed Jan. 6 on Big Tech censorship over Trump’s suggestion that the election had be stolen.
“What caused January 6 is pervasive censorship in this country in the lead up to January 6,” he said.
However, following the interview, Ramaswamy’s comments condemning Trump’s “abhorrent” behavior on January 6 resurfaced.
“What Trump did last week was wrong. Downright abhorrent. Plain and simple. I’ve said it before,” Ramaswamy tweeted less than a week after the incident, before condemning “Trump’s egregious behavior” in a separate post.
In an article published by the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 11, 2021, Ramaswamy condemned both the “disgraceful riot” and the decision by social media companies to suspend Trump in the aftermath.
On Monday, Ramaswamy told ABC News that while, unlike Trump, he would have ordered rioters to “stand down” as soon as there were “people violently approaching the Capitol,” he did not think the former president was to blame.
“Standing by while protesters turned violent, I think was a bad mistake of leadership,” said Ramaswamy, adding however, “I don’t think Donald Trump was the cause of Jan. 6… It is false and it is a mistake to blame Jan. 6 on Donald Trump.”
Ramaswamy has vowed to pardon both Trump and all “peaceful Jan 6 protesters” who “were targets of politicized federal prosecutions” and “denied due process.”
According to RealClearPolitics‘ polling average, Ramaswamy is the fourth most popular Republican presidential candidate with 4.5%, behind frontrunner Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
