Washington DC [US], January 2 : Indian-American Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he won't be participating in the fifth GOP debate in Iowa and announced that he will instead be doing a live audience show with Tim Pool.
He lashed out at CNN the forum hosting the Republican debate over their "shenanigans" and predicted that it would be the "most boring" debate in history.
"Forget @CNN's fake Iowa "debate" on Jan 10 which will be the most boring in modern history. We're doing a live-audience show that night in Des Moines with @Timcastinstead. Won't hold back. Here's the backstory on CNN's shenanigans," Ramaswamy posted on X.
https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1742185612663247095?s=20
The Ohio-based entrepreneur accused CNN of being biased against him and cited multiple incidents where the said network allegedly did unfair coverage of the presidential candidate.
He said that on December 13, "CNN disgracefully cut short its own Iowa town hall with me after I correctly pointed out uncomfortable truths about Jan 6", which CNN instantly dismissed as "conspiracy theories".
"On Dec 14, CNN then threatened my campaign on the phone with a cease-and-desist and had YouTube black out the town hall after it got 200k+ views on YouTube in a matter of hours. Yet Nikki Haley's CNN town hall was still up after 6 months (68k total views, sad)," Ramaswamy said.
He added, "Later on Dec 14, CNN notified my campaign that multiple qualifying polls, which the RNC used for each of the RNC Debates, mysteriously wouldn't count for CNN's fake "debate" in Iowa on January 10".
Ramaswamy further cited an incident where CNN's Oliver Darcy "wrote a newsletter that castigated his own network for allowing [me] to infect the public with his conspiracy campaign".
"CNN Commentator Van Jones said he was "literally shaking" when he heard me speak. And my rhetoric is "one step away from Nazi propaganda." CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper said I delivered a "soliloquy of conspiracy theories". CNN Anchor Pamela Brown and "Chief Investigative Correspondent" said Vivek has a "history of peddling disinformation," Ramasamy further said.
He also cited an incident where CNN Anchor Kaitlan Collins said that Ramaswamy uses "a reasonable tone to sell sinister lies to people who aren't paying close attention and might think what he is saying maybe is legitimate".
"CNN's token "conservative" Commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin said my rhetoric is "damaging to the country," Ramaswamy added.
Notably, Ramaswamy has a history of attacking mainstream media outlets over coverage of him and has also garnered criticism for his rhetoric during the first four GOP debates, according to The Hill.
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy along with other GOP primary candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, trail well behind former President Donald Trump who enjoys a sweeping 50-60 per cent support among GOP voters, according to various surveys.
Trump has also skipped all the four GOP debates held so far, and is likely to skip the fifth one too, citing his massive lead.
According to The Hill, doubts have been raised regarding whether Ramaswamy who has been polling in the single digits will qualify for the January 10 debate in Des Moines, Iowa.
The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.
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