‘It Was Called The American Revolution’: Vivek Ramaswamy Fact-Checks Sharpton Claim About Jefferson

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy fact-checked MSNBC host Al Sharpton Thursday after Sharpton claimed Thomas Jefferson would not “overthrow the government.”

Sharpton made the comments on the day former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges during his Thursday arraignment after Special Counsel Jack Smith secured a four-count indictment of Trump relating to his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election. Smith previously secured a 37-count indictment against Trump in June based on an investigation into allegation surrounding classified documents.

“Can you imagine our reading that James Madison or Thomas Jefferson tried to overthrow the government so they could stay in power?” Sharpton asked on “Morning Joe.” “That’s what we’re looking at. We’re looking at American history, and how it will play out is going to be very important.”

“It was called the American Revolution,” Ramaswamy posted on Twitter in response to Sharpton’s comments. “We were successful. We won.”

Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which set forth the reasons why thirteen colonies were severing ties with the United Kingdom. Madison served as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention and later served in the Continental Congress, according to History.com.

MSNBC hosts and guests routinely hyped the claims that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with the Russian government to defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Hosts often brought up a dossier assembled by Christopher Steele, which has since been discredited.

After the release of the report, MSNBC host Joy Reid claimed the report felt “like the seeds of a cover-up,” while MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, who hyped various claims of collusion, broke down over the report’s failure to include an indictment of Trump.