Ramaswamy inches away from Trump, doubles down on conspiracy theories during town hall: 5 takeaways

Vivek Ramaswamy's brash debate performances and digital-focused campaign have made the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur a controversial character in the 2024 election cycle.

A political newcomer with libertarian leanings, Ramaswamy has called for "quantum leap" changes to the country.

The Ohio entrepreneur also relishes in attacking the political establishment and mocking media outlets, while marketing himself as the heir to former President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement.

"I believe it's going to take an outsider with sharp elbows at times to come take on the federal bureaucracy to shut down the agencies that need to be shut down," he told an audience during an hourlong CNN town hall Wednesday at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.

As of late, the Republican has reignited a flirtation with fringe beliefs.

During the fourth GOP primary debate, for instance, Ramaswamy said the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol appeared to be "an inside job" despite there being no evidence supporting his claim.

Those targeted comments and other ultraconservative policy ideas buoyed Ramaswamy ahead of better-known, more experienced rivals. But that initial adrenaline rush has dulled five weeks before the Iowa caucuses, where Ramaswamy ranks a distant fourth place at 5% support, according to a new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

Here are five key takeaways from Wednesday's conversation with voters.

What makes Vivek Ramaswamy different from Donald Trump?

A question that has hounded Ramaswamy in the primary is why voters should want Trump 2.0 when the original version is still available to them.

At the outset of Wednesday's event, an Iowa resident asked that very question. Ramaswamy said the country needs a president, "who has a deep first personal understanding of the law and the Constitution," which some might take as a dig at Trump's criminal indictments.

CNN's Abby Phillip, who moderated the forum, pressed Ramaswamy on where he parts policy-wise with the former president. The White House hopeful noted his opposition to the use of eminent domain to build carbon capture pipelines across private land in Iowa.

"I'm the only candidate in this field who has taken a clear stand and being against those kinds of policies," he said.

That position hasn't translated into support from Hawkeye State voters, however. He is well behind Trump, who the Iowa survey shows sitting at 51%.

Cutting a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine

Republicans with a more hawkish worldview have swarmed many of Ramaswamy's views on global affairs, including his position to allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep a region of Ukraine.

Ramaswamy defended that stance during the town hall, saying he wants to avoid World War III. Ukraine accepting "territorial concessions" would be part of a larger strategy to coax Putin to end a military alliance with China, Ramaswamy argued.

"So do I trust Vladimir Putin? Of course not. Is Putin a craven dictator? Absolutely he is, but we will trust him to follow his self interest, just as he will trust us to follow ours," he said.

Asked if Putin decided to seize all of Ukraine as a result, Ramaswamy dismissed that as a "fictitious scenario."

Embracing conspiracy theories

One of the tense moments that turned the town hall on its head was Phillip challenging Ramaswamy about veering into multiple right-wing conspiracy theories.

One Jan. 6, 2021 rioter praised the Ohio Republican's suggestion that the U.S. Capital attack could have been committed by government agents, for example.

Asked if he was concerned about that approval, Ramaswamy again repeated those false claims. Phillip interrupted, resulting in several minutes of cross-talk.

"Where is the evidence that the government was involved in planning or executing Jan. 6?" she asked.

Ramaswamy then alleged, without evidence, that officials "suppressed footage" of the riot and that new footage shows law enforcement "rolling out the red carpet" allowing people inside the Capitol.

A pair of viral claims about government or law enforcement involvement in the riot have been debunked in recent months.

In one, where social media users said video showed a man flashing a badge while inside the Capitol, USA TODAY reported that the man had been previously identified as an HVAC technician by his own attorney, and the item he flashed resembled the vape he was later filmed using.

Dumb, scum and worse: A question of character

Much of the attention paid to Ramaswamy − besides his far-reaching policy prescriptions − have come thanks to nasty personal attacks, whether lobbed by him or at him.

The most viral was when former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley called him "scum" for bringing up her daughter's use of TikTok, even when she opposed the social media app.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie described Ramaswamy as an "obnoxious blowhard" during the last debate, to which he responded by referring to his weight.

A voter pointedly asked about Ramaswamy's tact, and if he has the demeanor to be president. He said he's been called "dumb, scum and worse" during this campaign and will always fight back.

"Am I going to tell my kids to go to school and be a bully? No, I'm not," Ramaswamy said. "But I'm going to tell them if somebody bullies you or hits you, you're going to hit it back ten times harder. And that's the way I'm going to lead this country."

'I'm Hindu': Questions of faith arise

Many Iowa Republicans identify as Christian evangelicals and have prodded Ramaswamy, who is Hindu, about his religious views.

That came up during the town hall, when a voter asked how he plans to address Americans who believe he cannot be president because his faith doesn't match that of the founders.

"I respectfully disagree," he said.

Ramaswamy said he wouldn't be the best candidate to spread Christianity through the country, but added that isn't the president's job. Instead he emphasized how he attended Christian schools as a teenager and that his religion shares many of the same tenants, such as abstinence before marriage.

"My faith is what leads me on this journey to run for president," Ramaswamy said. "My gratitude to this country is what leads me."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vivek Ramaswamy talks Donald Trump, Jan. 6 in CNN town hall: Takeaways