Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy explained why he is running in the 2024 elections against Donald Trump, who he claimed was "the president of the 21st century."
Ramaswamy appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday, where host Chuck Todd asked him directly to address the juxtaposition. The entrepreneur-turned-political candidate made the comment during Wednesday's Republican primary debate, which was the first of this election cycle. Ramaswamy did not walk back his comments about Trump but doubled down saying: "I judge by results."
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"That being said, I believe I can take the "America First" agenda even further than Donald Trump did. I think I will be more effective in uniting this country in the process," Ramaswamy said. "I want to build on the foundation that Trump laid. Frankly, I will invite him as an adviser and a mentor. I don't wanna relearn the same lessons. I want to pick up where he left off in taking on the administrative state."
Todd criticized Ramaswamy, claiming he has less political experience than Trump. The youngest presidential candidate argued that the next president "needs to be an outsider" in his opinion. The Meet the Press host admitted that Ramaswamy dominated the debate Wednesday.
In Ramaswamy's book, he wrote that "no one likes a sore loser," which he clarified during his interview with Todd was in reference to Trump and Stacey Abrams. Yet he stood by what he wrote and did not walk back his comments. Ramaswamy also confirmed that he voted by mail in 2020. Part of his campaign involves policy on election day, including making it a national holiday so voting can happen on a single day on paper ballots.
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Some 26% of likely primary voters claimed Ramaswamy performed the best, according to a Washington Post/FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll conducted immediately after the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wednesday. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), one of the seven other candidates present at the debate, edged him at 29%.
Ramaswamy had the second-highest speaking time at the debate, with 11 minutes and 47 seconds of air time. He was less than a minute shy of former Vice President Mike Pence.