Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman and 2024 GOP presidential candidate, was confronted during a Fox News appearance on Sunday over his seeming avoidance of criticizing Donald Trump, given that he was previously critical of the former president's response of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Ramaswamy, founder of Roivant Scientists and author of several books critical of progressive politics in business, was among the first candidates to declare his intention to seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Although he's considered a long shot candidate by most analysts, one recent poll showed him tied for distant second place with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after Trump, while another showed him coming in third place close behind DeSantis.
Ramaswamy is also among the many candidates for the GOP nomination, who have been called out for their unwillingness to directly criticize Trump. Trump is leading the pack of GOP candidates by a significant margin. Some analysts have said that taking shots at the leading candidate is a standard strategy in a political campaign, suggesting the GOP challengers' avoidance of direct criticism highlights the fear they have of alienating Trump's dedicated base of supporters.
During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, host Shannon Bream confronted Ramaswamy, noting that he had previously been highly critical of Trump's actions in relation to the events of January 6.
"What Trump did last week was wrong," Ramaswamy wrote in a tweet only six days after the riots, as Bream noted. "Downright abhorrent. Plain and simple." He also tweeted shortly after the riot that Trump's behavior was "egregious."
"So why are you and the other candidates now so quick to defend him?" Bream asked. "Are you worried about the punchback you would take for him if you're actually critical of that behavior now?"
In response, Ramaswamy claimed that Trump actions surrounding January 6 were "bad judgment," but not a crime.
"I've been consistent all along that I would have made different judgments than Donald Trump made," he said. "That is why I am running in this race for the presidency, the same race that he's in, because I would have made different – and I believe better – judgments for the country. But a bad judgment is not the same thing as a crime. And when we conflate the two, that sets a dangerous precedent for this country."
Ramaswamy has been amongst the most vocal in the 2024 Republican field in promising to pardon Trump of the various criminal charges against him, should he be elected president.
A new poll from Iowa, the state where the 2024 GOP primary season will begin in January, found that Ramaswamy had 5 percent support from the state's likely Republican voters. This was ahead of candidates like Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, and Chris Christie, but well behind Trump, who received support from 55 percent of respondents. The poll was notably funded by the Trump campaign, but its results largely line up with the results of other recent polls.
Another recent national poll conducted by Kaplan Strategies released on July 20 showed Ramaswamy tied for second place with DeSantis. Both were at 12 percent support compared to Trump's 48 percent.
A Harvard CAPS Harris Poll from July 19 to 20 showed Ramaswamy narrowly behind DeSantis. The businesman had 10 percent and the Florida governor had 12 percent. Trump came in at 52 percent.
Newsweek reached out to Ramaswamy's campaign via email for comment.
