PELLA, Iowa ― Vivek Ramaswamy, the highly successful biotech investor vying for the Republican presidential nomination, likened Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), renowned author Ibram X. Kendi, and other progressive anti-racists to the “grand wizards of the modern KKK.”
These remarks were made on Friday afternoon in response to an inquiry from an Iowa resident during a campaign event. The resident asked if Ramaswamy anticipated being labeled a “white supremacist” or deemed “white adjacent” by liberals.
Ramaswamy responded at length, expressing his belief that contemporary progressives, who insist he should adhere to liberal ideology based on his non-white identity, are the main sources of racial discrimination in today’s American culture.
He cited statements made by Pressley and Kendi as examples. Both individuals are Black.
“We don’t need any more brown faces that don’t want to be a brown voice,” Pressley said during the liberal Netroots Nation conference in 2019. “We don’t need Black faces that don’t want to be a Black voice.”
Ramaswamy also highlighted a quote from Kendi’s bestselling book, “How To Be An Anti-Racist”: “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” (Ramaswamy did not include the preceding sentence: “The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination.”)
According to Ramaswamy, Pressley’s comments specifically strip non-white people of their individual agency, treating them as a monolithic group based on their identity, similar to the approach adopted by the Ku Klux Klan.
“The greatest racism I’ve experienced ― and I have experienced racism ― comes from the modern left at a scale unimaginable,” stated the GOP candidate, who is the son of Indian immigrants. “Because I think they feel a sense of betrayal, saying that, ‘You’re not speaking in the tone that you’re supposed to.'”
“So the other side will gaslight you when you’re saying this stuff, ‘Oh, you’re just making that stuff up,'” added Ramaswamy, emphasizing that he was citing specific quotations. “These are the words of the modern Grand Wizards of the modern KKK.”
When questioned by reporters after the event, Ramaswamy stood by the essence of his remarks but modified them to avoid directly comparing contemporary progressives to KKK leaders. Instead, he stated that Pressley, Kendi, and the entire movement they represent would make the KKK “proud.”
“The fact that we’re taught to view one another solely based on our genetic attributes is something that would make the old wizards of the grand KKK proud,” Ramaswamy said. “I believe there is no better way to disempower someone in this country, as a child, than to tell them they can’t succeed because of the genetics they were born with.”
“I would say that in recent years, probably over the past decade, this mindset has emerged from the left. And I believe it speaks volumes about the deterioration of our culture,” he added. “The likes of the modern evangelists of this contemporary ideology would undoubtedly make the older generation of KKK grand wizards proud, in a certain sense of the word.”
HuffPost reached out to representatives of Pressley and Kendi for comment, but an immediate response was not received.
Ramaswamy has been a vocal opponent of racial preference programs, such as affirmative action, which aim to address historical racism. This topic is a central focus of his campaign. As part of this, he includes the notion that “reverse racism is racism” in a list of ten “truths” he recites at every campaign stop.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
