Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was criticized after his claim that two protesters at a campaign stop in Iowa intentionally 'rammed' into his car was debunked by local authorities.
Daily Mail reporter Katelyn Caralle shared photos of the damaged vehicle and reported that Ramaswamy "is not hurt and was not in the car at the time of the incident."
You can see them below.
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She reported the damage was estimated at "$600 to each vehicle."
A video she shared shows Ramaswamy having a back and forth with protesters at the same event.
Ramaswamy himself claimed to have had "a civil exchange with protestors" before they "rammed" into his vehicle, adding that they "should be held accountable, but the rest of the peaceful protestors shouldn’t be tarred by the behavior of two bad actors."
However, local police in Grinnell have presented a different version of events, stating that their investigation found "no evidence to substantiate" the claim that the driver intentionally struck the campaign's rental vehicle.
According to the police statement, the driver involved in the incident "stated she was not in the area to protest, she did not know who the vehicle she struck belonged to, she did not intentionally back into the vehicle, and she did not flee the scene of the accident." The individuals responsible were subsequently issued a summons for "unsafe backing."
Despite the police statement, Ramaswamy's campaign has maintained the initial narrative it shared. A spokesperson for the campaign claimed to possess video evidence of the individuals "flipping off Vivek" and found it "puzzling" why the police issued their statement.
Ramaswamy has been harshly criticized.
Ramaswamy has played fast and loose with the truth.
Ramaswamy, whose wealth comes from biotech and financial businesses, has previously been called out for referring to himself as a "scientist" who has developed "a number of medicines" even though he only has a biology degree and has never worked as a scientist.
He has aligned himself with the far-right over the course of his campaign by claiming to oppose corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives even though he, through his nonprofit, Roivant Social Ventures (RSV), has promoted health equity and diversity within the biopharma and biotech industries.
As if to underscore this history, he was mocked online last month after a sign bearing the word "TRUTH" briefly fell over onto him while he was delivering a campaign speech at a stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
