Biotech mogul and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy hopes to draw a clear contrast with his rivals on the topic of US foreign policy at Wednesday night’s third primary debate in Miami.
“He’ll be the only non-neocon on stage,” Ramaswamy spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Post of the debate lineup confirmed by the Republican National Committee Monday evening.
In addition to Ramaswamy, the Miami debate will feature Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Ramaswamy has painted himself as the GOP candidate most opposed to “endless wars” and interventionist foreign policy. He’s argued for “no money” to aid Israel in its war against Hamas, is the only candidate who has said he would end military and security funding for Ukraine and has floated the idea that the US may back off its defense of Taiwan after moving most semiconductor production away from the self-governing island.
The policies are part of a campaign strategy to depict Ramaswamy as the candidate who would stop another world war — the evolution of Donald Trump’s “America First” rhetorical hook.
But Ramaswamy has gone beyond Trump’s isolationist policies and is calling for less hawkish stances than the former president has proposed.
On Tuesday, the 38-year-old long shot released a “No to Neocons” pledge, saying every political appointee under his administration would have to sign three tenets in order to serve.
The tenants are: “Avoiding WW3 is a vital national objective; War is never a preference, only a necessity; The sole duty of U.S. policymakers is to U.S. citizens.”
“If you want 20 more years of endless wars that don’t advance our interests, then I’m not your guy. But if you want to stay out of no-win wars and make America stronger at home, I know how to get that done,” Ramaswamy said in a statement. “This pledge is my commitment to the American people that I will lead true to these principles and hold all appointees in my administration to the same standard.”
On Ukraine, Ramaswamy has said he would want Kyiv to cede eastern territory to Russia in exchange for Moscow ending its military alliance with China. Also, the US would block Ukraine’s accession into NATO and would end sanctions on Russia.
Trump has not been as concrete on his Ukraine policies. He said he would negotiate a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia within “24 hours” of taking office — but won’t lay out how yet — and warned that the US is “giving away so much equipment, we don’t have ammunition for ourselves right now.”
Along with his “no money” to Israel comment, Ramaswamy told Axios last month the US should only provide a “diplomatic Iron Dome,” not a military one, for Israel in its war against Hamas. He has also said it would be a good idea to “get Israel on its own two feet,” but his campaign then stated defunding the Jewish state would would “make zero sense” at “any time in the foreseeable future.”
Trump has been more effusive about his support for the Middle Eastern ally, vowing to defense Israel “like nobody has ever defended” — days after criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling the terror group Hezbollah “very smart.”
On Taiwan, Ramaswamy has also broken from the GOP field in calling for the US to deter China from attacking Taiwan “for so long as we rely on Taiwan for our semiconductors while avoiding war in the process.”
Compared to Ramasawamy, Trump has been more hawkish on his Taiwan policies. The 45th president has said he would not take the option of sending US troops to defend the island nation in the event of an attack from China “off the table.”