Fox Tries To Destroy Trump
Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman and Republican presidential candidate for 2024, faced tough questions on Fox News Sunday regarding his recent defense of former President Donald Trump.
According to Newsweek, despite Trump’s recent series of criminal indictments, he remains the leading contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, consistently polling ahead of other candidates by significant margins. However, candidates like Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley (former South Carolina Governor), and Chris Christie (former New Jersey Governor) have only garnered single-digit support in these polls.
Ramaswamy stood out among the candidates by openly denouncing the recent federal indictment against Trump for mishandling classified national defense documents. He characterized the case as a Democratic scheme to imprison Trump and undermine his political prospects. Ramaswamy pledged to pardon Trump if elected and called on other 2024 candidates to make the same commitment.
During his appearance on Fox News Sunday, host Shannon Bream challenged Ramaswamy on his assertive defense of Trump and his criticism of the integrity of the U.S. justice system. Bream referenced a New York Times article expressing concerns that Ramaswamy’s rhetoric could cause lasting damage.
Bream asked Ramaswamy if he acknowledged the possibility and if he was worried about it. Ramaswamy responded, stating that he was more concerned about the opposite possibility, where the Department of Justice weaponizes the police force against individuals based on their political beliefs. He argued that such actions erode trust in the justice system.
Ramaswamy has consistently received minimal support in the polls, often lower than other longshot candidates who haven’t even officially entered the race. Sometimes, his support is so low that he is not even mentioned in the list of candidates. The current average of polls from Real Clear Politics shows Ramaswamy with around 2.4 percent support among Republican voters, far behind Trump’s nearly 53 percent and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ approximately 20 percent.
Observers have speculated that candidates like Ramaswamy are positioning themselves for potential roles in a hypothetical second Trump administration by avoiding direct criticism of him during the campaign and offering support in his legal battles. However, Ramaswamy asserts that his goal is to secure the GOP nomination, citing inspiration from Trump’s outsider campaign in 2016.
The federal indictment against Trump, which Ramaswamy dismissed as purely political, includes numerous charges, such as 31 counts of willfully retaining sensitive national security information in violation of the Espionage Act. The indictment presents extensive evidence of Trump’s alleged obstruction of the federal government’s efforts to retrieve the documents he possessed.
Trump maintains his innocence, repeatedly characterizing the charges as politically motivated. During his arraignment in Florida, he entered a plea of “not guilty.”
A few Republican presidential candidates, including Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson (former Arkansas Governor), have openly criticized Trump’s behavior following the federal indictment. Hutchinson even called for Trump to withdraw from the race. Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, stated that he could not defend the conduct described in the indictment if it is accurate.
