Vivek Ramaswamy claimed in a CNN interview that he did not make a comment to The Atlantic suggesting that federal agents and police were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. 

Pressed on his 9/11 comments, Vivek Ramaswamy’s response: pic.twitter.com/hVEglgb5t3

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 22, 2023

Verdict: False

Ramaswamy made this quote. It can be heard in a recording published by The Atlantic and a spokesperson for the outlet confirmed it was said in an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

During the first primary GOP debate on Wednesday, Ramaswamy said, “the climate change agenda is a hoax,” according to NBC News. He also claimed more people are dying from “bad climate change policies” rather than climate change itself, Politico reported.

The Atlantic reported that Ramaswamy made the following quote in a recent interview, “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.”

After being prompted to explain his comments in an interview with CNN, Ramaswamy denied ever having said this. “What I said is, on January 6, I do believe there were many federal agents on the field and we deserve to know who they are. On 9/11, what I’ve said is that the government lied,” he said. “The government lied about Saudi Arabia’s involvement.”

Ramaswamy is then asked if the quote from The Atlantic is inaccurate, to which he said, “I am telling you the quote is wrong, actually.”

“I asked that reporter to send the recording, ‘cause it was on the record; he refused to do it,” Ramaswamy said. “But we had a free-flowing conversation. The truth is, there are lies the government has told about 9/11, but it’s not the ones that somebody put in my mouth.”

This is a legitimate quote from Ramaswamy, however.

“The quotes in The Atlantic’s profile of Vivek Ramaswamy are accurate,” a spokesperson for The Atlantic told Check Your Fact in an email. On Tuesday, in a follow up, we published the audio and transcript of this exchange – so you can listen/read for yourself.” The spokesperson directed Check Your Fact to the article containing the transcript and audio, and Ramaswamy’s quote can be heard at the 0:47 timestamp. 

The writer of the original Atlantic article, John Hendrickson, said in an X post that Ramaswamy was not misquoted in the story. (RELATED: Did Vivek Ramaswamy Say He Doesn’t Have Any Plans To Pardon Hunter Biden If Elected President In 2024?)

Vivek Ramaswamy was not misquoted in my story. Here is the unedited audio and a transcript of our exchange about 9/11 and January 6: https://t.co/TSvpOnKDB0

— John Hendrickson (@JohnGHendy) August 22, 2023

Ramaswamy made an X post regarding the CNN interview. “Hilarious interview with @CNN last night,” he wrote. “Felt like I was talking to a petulant teenager.”

Hilarious interview with @CNN last night. Felt like I was talking to a petulant teenager. https://t.co/MUik3mMfNp

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 22, 2023

Check Your Fact has reached out to Ramaswamy’s office for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.