Vivek Ramaswamy slams CNN, mainstream media for misleading Americans on J6, Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping during Iowa townhall

Vivek Ramaswamy refused to be railroaded by CNN's Abby Phillip during a Wednesday night townhall in Des Moines, Iowa. Phillip consistently interrupted Ramaswamy to interject her version of the "facts" surrounding J6 and spoke over Ramaswamy after asking him questions about his views.

Phillip tried to link Ramswamy's comments about the presence of undercover law enforcement informants and personnel in the crowd at J6 to the conviction of one of the men who had been in the Capitol on that day, asking if he was "concerned" that the man would reference Ramswamy's comments during his sentencing.

"If you had told me— it's close to three years ago that January 6, 2021 happened— if you'd told me three years ago back when I was a biotech CEO, not steeped in this world. I was just consuming passive media but was focused on my world of developing medicines. If you had told me that January 6 was in any way an inside job the subject of government entrapment, I would have told you that was crazy talk, fringe conspiracy theory nonsense," he said.

"I can tell you now having gone somewhat deep in this: it's not. I mean, the reality is this: we do have a government — first of all, we have to acknowledge that has lied to us systematically over the last several years about the origin of COVID-19. About the Hunter Biden laptop that we were told was false by 51 CIA experts and otherwise before we now know that it was true. You can go straight down the list of Trump-Russia, disinformation, collusion, hoax, all of it. Now we come to January 6. The reality is we know that there were federal law enforcement agents in that field. We don't know how many I think it's shameful—"

Phillip interrupted and refused to let him continue, saying that there was no evidence of this. 

Ramaswamy interjected, holding the floor, "I know that the establishment doesn't approve of this message," and the crowd applauded. 

"So why before Congress, when pressed on what the number was, they [FBI] didn't say there were none they just couldn't say how many there were?" Ramaswamy countered.

"We've seen multiple informants suggesting that there were," Ramaswamy said, "we know people were FBI informants—"

Phillip continued to speak over him, but Ramaswamy prevailed to make his point. "I'm gonna give you hard facts. And if I may, I know this can be a little uncomfortable." He asked why Congress suppressed footage from J6, releasing only 12 hours of the over 200 hours in existence, including footage showing police firing rubber bullets into the crowd and shooting tear gas.

Phillip interrupted, accusing him of "cherry picking," to which he replied, "release the whole thing." He accused the FBI of entrapping Americans who were at J6, yet the CNN chyron said that Ramaswamy was claiming J6 was "an inside job."

Ramaswamy linked the entrapment of J6 protesters to the entrapment of those who were accused of a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. FBI agents contacted the men, provided them with funds, and encouraged them to go through with a kidnapping plot they were not up to on their own.

"When you think there's a civil libertarian issue of our time: Gretchen Whitmer's kidnapping. I want to be really clear on this because it's the same issue, the same FBI, same even part of the FBI.

"Three people who were in an alleged plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer were acquitted at the end of trial because it was entrapment. That is government agents put them up to do something they otherwise wouldn't have done. They gave them credit cards with spending limits of up to $5,000. Encouraged them to buy munitions, plan something they weren't otherwise willing to plan. So much so— and I want people at home to know this, especially CNN viewers to know this— is that one of the jurors went to those defendants and apologized afterwards, gave him a hug, apologized seeing what the government had put a poor guy up to who had to go to some Mexican restaurant across the street to get hot water.

"These people were exploited with credit cards up to $5,000, FBI agents putting them up to a kidnapping plot that we were told was true but was entrapment. Same thing with the Capitol police—"

Phillip interrupted again. 

"The government cannot put you up to do something and then charge you with it, that's wrong," Ramaswamy said.

Phillip said she would not let him "mislead the audience."

"They've been misled by the mainstream media," Ramaswamy said.