GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy faced intense questioning on Sunday regarding his decision to defend Donald Trump, despite expressing disagreement with much of the indicted former president’s behavior. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week,” Ramaswamy clarified that he did not support Trump’s actions during the 2020 election that led to criminal indictments. However, he maintained that Trump should not be prosecuted for such behavior.
Ramaswamy acknowledged that he would have handled the situation surrounding the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, differently compared to Trump. However, he emphasized the need to distinguish between bad behavior and illegal behavior, asserting that conflating the two would lead the country down a dangerous path.
Recent polling for the 2024 election has placed Ramaswamy among the top Republican presidential candidates, trailing behind Trump’s significant lead. Like Trump, Ramaswamy entered the political field as a self-funded investor and political outsider, aiming to represent a younger and more coherent conservative who can uphold the ex-president’s vision.
When asked if he believed it was wrong for Trump to create a slate of fake electors following the 2020 election, Ramaswamy initially redirected the focus to his own campaign before eventually stating that he would not have nominated phony electors.
Stephanopoulos also inquired about Ramaswamy’s views on Trump’s encouragement of his followers to storm the Capitol. The candidate defended the ex-president, claiming that Trump only encouraged peaceful protest. Ramaswamy acknowledged his disagreement with much of Trump’s actions on that day but opposed prosecuting him, stating that such a precedent would infringe on First Amendment rights and enable the elimination of political opponents during elections.
During the interview, Ramaswamy referred to Trump’s indictments as an “illegal prosecution,” prompting Stephanopoulos to fact-check his claim. The host pointed out that there isn’t any evidence to support such a statement.
Stephanopoulos expressed confusion regarding Ramaswamy’s stance, questioning how he could vote for Trump as president despite finding many of his actions abhorrent. Ramaswamy made it clear that if Trump became the nominee, he would support him and, if elected president himself, would pardon Trump to help reunite the country.
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