The establishment’s fear of anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy was reflected on the debate stage, the presidential hopeful said during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday.
“I’ve been probably taking the most arrows from the establishment because they are threatened by my rise, and that spilled over onto the debate stage,” Ramaswamy said, giving an example through his position of wanting to “end the war in Ukraine and focus on defending the homeland.”
“That threatens the neocon establishment, and they came at me for it. My position that I will pardon Donald Trump, that I will pardon peaceful January 6 protesters, these are things that Republicans would rather not talk about and sweep under the rug, especially establishment Republicans,” Ramaswamy said, noting that others “dance” around issues such as climate change, which he emphasized is a “hoax.”
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“Climate change. It came up on the debate stage, and everybody else dances around the issue and talks about time horizons and clean energy. I said, ‘What transition?’ Climate change in the agenda, specifically of the climate movement, is a hoax. Let’s call that out for what it is. More people are dying of bad policies in response to climate change than of climate change itself. This threatens the establishment in both parties,” Ramaswamy continued, adding that the debate was “good” in the sense that it “smokes out some real differences we have in our GOP.”
“I’m coming in from the outside. That is a real threat to the reigning incumbents and the reigning establishment model of thinking in foreign policy and climate change policy, even domestic policy in the United States of America. But I think that I do represent what most people in our base want. That is why I would expect to be the nominee. That is what I expect to be the next president. And I do think it will take an outsider with an independent vision to actually get that done,” the presidential hopeful continued, adding that he is not going to be a puppet who touts what the donor class wants.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (R) gestures toward former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (L), flanked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (2nd R) and former Vice President Mike Pence during the first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 23, 2023. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Ramaswamy also weighed in on his decision to immediately raise his hand during the debate after moderator Bret Baier of Fox News asked candidates if they would still support Trump as the nominee if he were convicted. Former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were noticeably delayed, looking around before deciding to raise their hands.
“My view in this whole campaign is I would rather speak the truth, speak my true convictions, and lose the election than to play some careful political snakes and ladders, and that’s what everyone in the professional political establishment does,” Ramaswamy explained.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy talk during the first Republican presidential primary debate on August 23, 2023, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
“Voters, especially in our primary base, they have a good sixth sense for who’s actually a patriot who speaks the truth versus who is a, let’s just say, a listless vessel for the Super PAC class,” he said, taking a jab at DeSantis, who infamously deemed Trump supporters “listless vessels.”
“And I think that’s the difference in this primary. Do you want a puppet, or do you want a patriot who speaks the truth? Do you want incremental reform? Or do you want a revolution and a revival?” he asked.
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.