Republican debate: GOP targets Ramaswamy in impressive stage debut.
A Rising Star Emerges: Vivek Ramaswamy Shines in Republican Primary Debate
Ahead of Wednesday night’s first Republican primary debate, 38-year-old biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was relatively unknown, but that likely has changed.
Ramaswamy, the candidate with no experience in elected office, stood center stage during the debate and was repeatedly at the center of the scrum, trading the most barbs with other candidates, regularly interrupting the moderators, and inserting himself into the conversation. He had the second most speaking time at 11 minutes and 47 seconds, just beneath former Vice President Mike Pence, who clocked in at 12 minutes and 37 seconds.
A Bold Entrance
“Now everybody’s gotten their memorized preprepared slogans out of the way, we can actually have a real discussion now,” Ramaswamy said, coming out swinging.
“Is that one of yours?” Pence shot back.
After ticking off several of his accomplishments as the vice president, Pence slammed Ramaswamy’s lack of political experience.
“I balanced budgets and cut taxes when I was governor. I mean, look, Joe Biden has weakened this country at home and abroad,” Pence said. “Now is not the time for on-the-job training. We don’t need to bring in a rookie,” he said, making the first dig at Ramaswamy.
As the wildcard candidate introduced himself, he borrowed a line from former President Barack Obama, describing himself as “a skinny guy with a funny last name.”
“Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name, and what the heck is he doing in the middle of the debate stage,” Ramaswamy asked rhetorically. “I’ll tell you I’m not a politician. You’re right about that, I’m an entrepreneur.”
Christie called Ramaswamy “the same type of amateur” as Obama, citing his remark as the unknown skinny guy.
“I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT, the last person in one of these debates who stood in the middle of the stage and said, ‘What’s a skinny guy with an odd last name doing up here,’ was Barack Obama,” Christie said.
A Fearless Stance
As former President Donald Trump prepares to surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the latest case accusing him of attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, the candidates were asked whether they would support a convicted Donald Trump as the party’s choice. Ramaswamy immediately raised his hand and then criticized Christie, claiming his campaign is based on “vengeance and grievance.”
“Let’s just speak the truth. Trump was the best president of the 21st century. Chris Christie, your claim that Donald Trump is motivated by vengeance and grievance would be more credible if your campaign were not based on vengeance and grievance against one man,” Ramaswamy said.
The son of Indian immigrants was able to expertly insert himself into the debate when he was not at the center of the conversation. After candidates were asked whether Pence did the right thing in certifying the elections on January 6, 2021, Ramaswamy pushed Pence on whether he would pardon Trump.
“Well, Mike, why don’t you say this — join me in making a commitment on day one, you would pardon Donald Trump, I’m the only candidate on the stage who has the courage to actually say it,” Ramaswamy said.
Pence said he would consider it but noted it would depend on showing contrition.
“I’ve actually given pardons when I was governor of the state of Indiana. It usually follows a finding of guilt and contrition by the individual who has been convicted,” Pence said. “If I am president of the United States, we will give fair consideration to any pardon requests.”
A Controversial Stance
Early in the debate, the audience booed loudly when the entrepreneur and frequent guest on Fox News called climate change a hoax.
“Climate change is a hoax … The reality is more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change,” he said.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley fired back at Ramaswamy while also calling for China and India to cut emissions.
“First of all, we do care about clean air, clean water. We want to see that taken care of, but there is a right way to do it. The right way is, first of all, yes, is climate change real? Yes, it is,” Haley said. “But if you want to go and really change the environment, we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions.”
Ramaswamy also reiterated his view that Washington’s support for Ukraine is not in America’s best interest, and he vowed not to support more funding for the war.
“I find it offensive that we have professional politicians on this stage who will make a pilgrimage to Kyiv, to their pope, Zelensky, without doing the same thing for the people of Maui or the people on the south side of Chicago,” Ramaswamy said.
Haley criticized her Republican opponent for his lack of foreign policy chops and his support of Russia while abandoning allies.
“He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia, he wants to let China eat Taiwan, he wants to go and stop funding Israel,” Haley said. “You don’t do that to friends. What you do instead is you have the backs of your friends.”
Ramaswamy then criticized Haley by telling her, “I wish you well in your future career on the boards of Lockheed and Raytheon,” leading her to insist she is not on the board of either defense contractor.
“You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows,” she said, earning applause from the crowd.
A Fresh Perspective
Ramaswamy was the only candidate on the stage to raise his hand when the candidates were asked who would not keep supporting Ukraine.
The youngest Republican presidential candidate this cycle attempted to make the case that a new generation was better equipped to take control of the White House. His debate preparation included videos he released of himself playing tennis shirtless with college players across the country and videos of him working out and doing burpees.
Ramaswamy’s age and inexperience were front and center during the debate.
“We don’t need a president who’s too old; we don’t need a president who’s too young,” Pence said toward the end of the debate.
“I want to address Vice President Pence’s comment; I think we need someone of a different generation to lead this nation,” Ramaswamy said in response.
Ramaswamy’s position has been rising in recent days, polling at about 9%, behind Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in the Republican field. Recently, he has been attempting to respond to backlash after an interview with the Atlantic, where he seemed to float a 9/11 conspiracy theory, suggesting that police or federal agents could have been on the planes that hit the Twin Towers during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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In Ramaswamy’s closing statement, he made it clear he would continue to lean into the generational gap between himself and the more experienced candidates on the stage.
“I was born in 1985, and I grew up into a generation where we were taught to celebrate our diversity and our differences so much that we forgot all of the ways we are really just the same as Americans bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion in 1776,” he said.
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