They heard a lot of other stuff, too. Ramaswamy, in particular, was a conduit of unchecked nonsense, seemingly in keeping with his campaignās plan to be
āunhingedā during the event. Ramaswamy said that the investigation into links between Russia and Trumpās 2016 campaign was āHillary Clinton made-up disinformation,ā which
it wasnāt. He said the media ārigged the 2020 election,ā which
it didnāt ā and even that the media had rigged the
2016 election, which is a new one. He elevated the long-debunked assertion that the Justice Department had referred to parents protesting at school board meetings as terrorists, which
it didnāt. He hyped the idea that Biden is somehow a puppet being controlled by others, a common refrain on the fringe right. (In case you were uncertain, thereās no evidence of this one, either.)
Ramaswamy also claimed that Bidenās son Hunter āgot a $5 million bribe from Ukraineā which, he ridiculously claimed, is why the United States is now aiding Ukraineās defense against Russian invaders. The bribe thing is based on an
unsubstantiated allegation made by congressional Republicans, an allegation that has
more evidence against it than for it.
CNNās Dana Bash pressed Ramaswamy on this particular claim after the debate. He was unable to offer any evidence beyond the equivalent of āRepublican legislators said it.ā
āI think that what I am doing in this race is speaking truth,ā Ramaswamy told Bash. He may think that, but heās not.
