Ramaswamy plans to visit Ground Zero on Monday, the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
During a campaign stop in Nevada, Iowa, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd sharply criticized his Republican presidential rival Vivek Ramaswamy for controversial remarks about the 9/11 attacks. Ramaswamy had suggested in an interview with The Atlantic that federal agents might have been aboard the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
Hurd, visibly upset by the comments, declared that Ramaswamy’s remarks “spits in the face of the thousands of lives that we lost on that day and subsequently.” The criticism comes ahead of Ramaswamy’s scheduled visit to Ground Zero in New York City on the 22nd anniversary of the tragic event. Hurd, who has strongly condemned Ramaswamy’s statement, emphasized the importance of respecting the victims and the tragedy, rather than politicizing it.
Ramaswamy had stated in the interview with The Atlantic that he questioned the number of police and federal agents on the planes that hit the Twin Towers, adding that it was “probably zero.” This statement sparked outrage, with many accusing him of spreading misinformation and disrespecting the victims of 9/11.
In response to Hurd’s criticism, Ramaswamy defended himself in an NBC News interview, pointing out that many people on his team had lost family members during the attacks. “That’s what Monday is about,” he said, expressing his frustration over what he described as efforts by other politicians to politicize the anniversary of the attacks. Despite the backlash, Ramaswamy maintains that his comments were not meant to dishonor the victims but to encourage further questioning and investigation into the events of that day.