Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican running for president, stated on Sunday that he would have ratified the results of the 2020 election and that Mike Pence, who was vice president at the time, lost a “historic opportunity” to start making changes on January 6, 2021.
At the first GOP presidential debate on Wednesday, Donald Trump was not present, so Ramaswamy, a businessman who has a close relationship with the previous president, entered the stage. During the debate, he launched and was attacked the most, taking advantage of the chance to advance from relative obscurity to a prominent candidate.
When asked by Chuck Todd of NBC News during an appearance on “Meet the Press” if Pence had made the right decision in certifying the election results on January 6, Ramaswamy responded, “I would have done it very differently. I believe he passed up a historic chance to bring our nation back together during that window.
What I would have said is that now is the time for a true national consensus on the two components necessary for an American democracy to function, he said. “The first is free and fair elections, and the second is a smooth change of leadership. The conflict between those things presents a chance for bravery.
Ramaswamy asserted that Pence if he were in his place, would have attempted to pass “reforms” before certifying the election.
“This is what I would have said: ‘We need single-day voting on election day, paper ballots, and government-issued ID matching the voter file.’ And if we succeed in doing that, we will have won, and we won’t need to make any more complaints about the fairness of the election. He stated, “I would have pushed it through the Senate.
“In my capacity as Senate President, I would have spearheaded that level of reform, certified the election results under that condition, and then presented it to President Trump for him to sign into law. And on January 7th, in accordance with a free and fair election, proclaimed the re-election campaign,” he stated. “I believe that was an opportunity lost,”
When NBC News contacted Pence’s campaign for a response, the campaign sent them an email it had issued to subscribers after Ramaswamy’s participation in “Meet the Press.”
Ramaswamy has changed his mind several times about the matter of January 6. His most recent remarks—among them on this morning’s episode of Meet The Press on NBC—may be his most heinous ones, according to a statement from Pence’s campaign. “On August 4, 2023, he refused to confirm that, on January 6, 2021, he would have validated the results of the 2020 election. Despite his statements on MTP today, he raised his hand during the GOP debate on Wednesday in support of Mike Pence’s adherence to the Constitution.
Ramaswamy’s comments were also blasted in a statement by David James, Pence’s press secretary.
Vivek’s statement from today, January 6, is alarming and worrying since it shows a lack of knowledge about how our system of government operates, according to James. In one breath, he supports radical progressives like Nancy Pelosi in calling for the nationalization of our electoral process, and in the next, he asserts that the Vice President has the exclusive right to determine whether to certify elections.
When Ramaswamy was reportedly questioned by Politico earlier this month if he would have recognized the election results as Pence did in the wake of Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and despite Trump’s unwillingness to concede, Ramaswamy apparently dodged the question.
Politico quotes Ramaswamy as saying, “I would have not allowed it get to that point.” If I had been in a genuine position of leadership, I “would never have put myself — or been a part of an administration — to have permitted us to have gotten to that doorstep.”
In a later question during his appearance on “Meet the Press,” Ramaswamy answered why he believed he would be a better leader than Trump despite having less experience.
The contender declared, “I want to build on the basis that Trump established, honestly. I intend to invite him as an adviser and a mentor. “I don’t want to have to learn the same things over. I want to continue his fight against the administrative state where he left off.
He had previously expressed a desire for Trump to serve as an advisor, but this was the first time he had done so since the former leader was detained on suspicion of plotting to rig the Georgia 2020 presidential election. On Thursday night, before being freed on a $200,000 bond, Trump had his mug shot taken in connection with the first of his four indictments this year.
Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, would like to be an adviser in Ramaswamy’s administration, the 38-year-old said during a town hall in Newton, Iowa, on Friday.
Since Elon Musk laid off 75% of the workers at Twitter, he expects him to be an intriguing adviser, he added. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know Elon Musk better recently,” the man said.