Vivek Ramaswamy will take out an ad DURING the Republican debate on CNN encouraging Iowa voters to turn it off – after failing to take the stage with Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign will run an ad during Wednesday night’s CNN GOP debate encouraging Iowa voters to turn off the TV.

Wednesday’s debate in Des Moines — attended only by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. official. will be present. Nikki Haley – It’s the first time that Ramaswamy’s poll numbers weren’t high enough to give him a place on the podium.

Like former President Donald Trump during previous debates, Ramaswamy has counterprogramming planned: Instead, he will headline a town hall down the street with conservative commentators Tim Pool and Candace Owens.

The 38-year-old entrepreneur and anti-woke author will also take over CNN’s airwaves for 30 seconds across the Hawkeye State, his campaign told DailyMail.com.

“The mainstream media is trying to manipulate the Republican caucus in Iowa in favor of the corporate candidates they can control. Don’t fall for their trick,” Ramaswamy says on the spot. “They don’t want you to hear from me about the truth about what really happened on January 6, the truth about the origins of COVID, the Hunter Biden laptop story and everything else they lied to you about.”

CNN’s polls have effectively halved the field of candidates, with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (left) and Ramaswamy (right) out. Former UN Ambassador. Nikki Haley (center left) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (center right) will be the only hopeful participants

“So you can fix that: grab your remote and turn it off,” he adds, holding up the device as the screen then flashes black.

CNN announced a day after the final Republican debate, held on December 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that the network would host two more Republican primaries – one in Iowa and one in New Hampshire, ahead of the caucuses and primaries, respectively.

ABC also announced it would host a debate in New Hampshire in January.

At the time, the Republican National Committee was considering a rule change to allow Republican hopefuls to participate in debates not affiliated with the political party, a change that was ultimately implemented.

While DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were all on stage for the Alabama debate, CNN said it would be more difficult for candidates to qualify for the network’s two January debates.

Candidates had to receive at least 10 percent support from voters in three separate national or Iowa polls of Republican voters who met the network’s reporting standards.

One of the three qualifying polls also had to be an approved poll of likely Republican caucusgoers in Iowa.

Vivek Ramaswamy has had some memorable debate moments, including when he held up a sign during the December debate in Tuscaloosa that read “Nikki = Corrupt.” However, his antics have not translated into higher opinion polls

Ramaswamy scored 10 percent in a recent Iowa poll from Morning Consult.

An earlier Morning Consult survey showed him slightly ahead of Haley in Iowa in the polls.

National polls have shown Ramaswamy stuck in the single digits.

It is standard practice that candidates must meet polling and donor requirements before appearing on the presidential debate stage.

CNN’s demands have effectively halved the field of candidates — although Christie will likely return to the debate stage in New Hampshire because he has focused most of his efforts there.

Ramaswamy’s debate appearances were memorable because he was a thorn in Haley’s side, for example writing “Nikki = Corrupt” on his notepad in December and showing it to the audience.

But his combative tactics have failed to boost his poll numbers – and he was dubbed “America’s most annoying freeloader” by Christie in Alabama.