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Vivek RamaswamyBorn in 1985, Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur and founder of a pharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences. He lives in Ohio.
Campaign Website - vivek2024.com |
photo source: Campaign Website
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Military Assistance to Ukraine
Ramaswamy is opposed to increased military assistance to Ukraine. He has stated that it is not a priority.
"I'm absolutely unpersuaded and I'm actually enjoying watching the Ukraine Hawks quietly, delicately, tiptoe back from their position as this thing has unwound into a disaster. In the first half of this race, I was the only person standing for it. Now they're actually quietly coming around to being more cautious as they should level with the American people. Here Ukraine is not a paragon of democracy. This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. It has consolidated all media into one state TV media arm - that's not democratic. It has threatened not to hold elections this year unless the US forks over more money - that is not democratic. It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks. The comedian and cargo pant a man called Zelenksyy doing it in their own ranks - that is not Democratic. More facts for you that you won't hear from the mainstream in either party or the mainstream media - the region of Ukraine that are occupied by Russia right now in the Donbas, Luhansk, Donetsk, these are Russians speaking regions that have not even been part of Ukraine since 2014 that other people probably couldn't name those provinces for you. Those are the hard facts. And so to frame this as some kind of battle between good versus evil, don't buy it and I'd like the likes of the the sharpest of the warhawks on Ukraine."
Response to First Republican Presidential Debate, August 23, 2023
Question:“I would not support it.
- The US has committed nearly $77 billion in aid to the Ukraine war. The administration is now asking Congress for $24 billion more, regardless of that the specific — specifics of that plan, is there anyone on stage who would not support the increase of more funding to Ukraine?
- Mr. Ramaswamy, you would not support an increase of funding to Ukraine?
I would not. And I think that this is disastrous, that we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else’s border, when we should use those same military resources to prevent across the invasion of our own southern border here in the United States of America.
We are driving Russia further into China’s hands. The Russia-China alliance is the single greatest threat we face. And I find it offensive, that we have professional politicians on the stage that will make a pilgrimage to Kyiv, to their Pope, Zelenskyy, without doing the same thing for people in Maui or the Southside of Chicago or Kensington.
I think that we have to put the interests of Americans first. Secure our own border instead of somebody else’s. And the reality is this is also how we project strength and making America strong at home."
"...If these people want to send your sons and daughters to go die in Ukraine, they’ve been arguing for it for a year, $200 billion of our taxpayer money sent over. Neither of them could even name for you the provinces that they actually want to protect. And this is the people who have been touting their so-called foreign policy experience. It is intellectual fraud. These people are lying to you. The same people who told you about weapons and mass destruction in Iraq to justify that invasion, didn’t know the first thing about it, yet they sent thousands of our sons and daughters to go die. The same people who told you the same in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is still in charge. 20 years later, seven trillion of our national debt due to these toxic neocons. You can put lipstick on a Dick Cheney, it is still a fascist neocon."
"I would end the war in Ukraine and Russia. It's not that I would just stop funding it, I would negotiate a deal... I would negotiate is freeze the current lines of control, make a hard commitment that NATO will not admit Ukraine to NATO, but in return pull Russia out of its military alliance with China. That's actually the top threat that we would face is a Russia China alliance and we're driving Russia further into China's arms. That's also how we deter China for going after Taiwan without going to war over it."
Arms to Israel
Ramaswamy is in favor of military support to Israel. He has also indicated a desire for Israel to no longer request U.S. aid, but instead stand on its own two feet.
"...What happened to Israel was dead wrong, what Hamas did was medieval. It was subhuman, it was immoral. And we have to call that out for what it is on October 7th. But to say that that was an attack on America fails a basic test.
...So I believe I have the strongest pro-Israel position actually on the stage, even though it’s a little bit different than the standard GOP talking points. And it is this, the founding vision of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, the George Washington figure of Israel. What did he believe he believed that we don’t want as Israel to depend on the fleeting sympathies of the West and have our hands tied. I think Israel has an absolute right to defend itself to the fullest, without the US the UN or the EU or anybody else, second guessing their decisions as the Biden administration, guess what, is now starting to do. I think that’s a more deeply pro-Israel position than anybody else."
"Israel was based on the idea that they don't want to depend on anybody else's sympathy or direction in defending themselves. So what I would tell BiBi is that Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend itself. I would tell him to smoke those terrorists on his Southern border and then I'll tell him as president of the United States I'll be smoking the terrorists on our Southern border. That's his responsibility, this is our responsibility. That's how we move forward."
Response at Town Hall in Iowa [43:08], October 19, 2023
"The reason I am supportive of Israel is that I am supportive of the United States of America. It's not any other independent commitment other than my commitment to this country and this homeland..
...A lot of us might find common ground where we do not want Israel to make the same mistakes that we did after 9/11 in the country responding with emotion without a plan. What is the purpose of this ground invasion in Gaza? I am very worried that this is going to repeat the kind of mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's not our business, it is a different country's business. That is a valid point unless we are asked to fund it in which case it is our business to ask those questions. That is not Anti-Israel. That is deeply Pro-Israel."
“I've said very clearly since day one and all along is that we will not cut off aid to Israel until Israel tells us they're ready for it."
"One of the other criticisms we've heard is somehow that I'm anti-israel. That's a joke. By the end of my first term our relationship with Israel is going to be stronger than it ever has been because I will treat it as a true friendship not a
client relationship. Not a transactional relationship. What does that mean? I'm going to lead diplomatically to Abraham Accords build on the pact that the Trump Administration negotiated but take it to the next level. Add Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Indonesia to the list. Work with Israel to make sure that Iran never ever acquires nuclear capabilities. That's in the U.S interest that's why I stand for it. I also want to have Bibi over to the White House have a strong relationship with him in a way that it seems Biden can't quite do. I also want to learn from Israel. This is what good friends do for me, do with each other."
Tweets on X (formerly twitter)
"Israel has an absolute right to defend itself & to pursue Israel-First policies, just as we should pursue America-First policies here. That’s consistent with the original Zionist vision & also the George Washington’s vision for America. Calls for vague US involvement without clear objectives will lead us to a no-win war that will be bad for Israel and bad for the US." (October 26, 2023)
"The U.S. should provide Israel with diplomatic support, intelligence-sharing, and necessary munitions to defend its own homeland, while taking special care to avoid a broader regional war in the Middle East that would *not* advance U.S. interests:
1. Offer Israel robust intelligence support and stand ready to provide additional military supplies via both sale and transfer.
2. Immediately confirm an American ambassador to Israel, with the vacant embassies in Egypt, Libya, and Oman to be filled in quick succession.
3. End all further nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, including the full phase-out of Iran’s nuclear program and immediately ending Biden’s disastrous plan to share nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia.
4. Fast-track the deportation of any resident aliens who have served with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including extradition to Israeli custody where appropriate.
5. Work with Israel to identify countries willing to accept peaceful Palestinians who wish to escape the pressures of Hamas and facilitate their emigration.
6. Warn the UN of consequences if its historical pattern of drawing false equivalences between Israel and the terrorists who target it continues." (October 11, 2023)
Arms to Saudi Arabia
Ramaswamy's position on this topic is unclear. He has, however, indicated he would extend the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia.
I'm going to lead diplomatically to Abraham Accords build on the pact that the Trump Administration negotiated but take it to the next level. Add Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Indonesia to the list.
Arms to Taiwan
Ramaswamy appears to be in favor of arming Taiwan. He warned Chinese President Xi Jinping to not "mess with Taiwan before 2028."
"...I think the next U.S. president needs to be crystal clear that at least for the foreseeable future, the U.S. will absolutely defend Taiwan, and it is with that clarity that we actually achieve deterrence.
...I also do believe the Second Amendment is a critical way of preventing foreign autocrats from being able to, “It’s worked in America, why wouldn’t it work in Taiwan?” So, it is part of a broader strategy, but I do think that we need to be specific about our deterrence strategy or else Xi Jinping is just encroaching by the day."
Response to an interview with Huge Hewitt, August 14, 2023
"There are other elements of the Taiwan porcupine strategy up to and including putting a gun in every Taiwanese household, training them how to use them. That’s what I’m going to do, Hugh, to make sure that we don’t put ourselves in that position. China will have no reason to aggress towards Taiwan between now and the end of my first term in 2028, if we show we’re serious about it."
"Let me make it really simple for Xi Jinping’s translator, okay? Do not mess with Taiwan before 2028, before the end of my first term, okay? We are going to go to full length to make sure that you do not mess with Taiwan. We’re going to move those two Ohio-Class SSGN’s. We’re going to surface them, and we’re going to bring them to the Pacific. We’re going to bring them to even the Indian Ocean and elsewhere, okay? You’re not going to like that very much, because they’re loaded up with 150-plus Tomahawks apiece that have thousand-plus mile range. That could reach the Chinese mainland. So do not mess. But listen to the second part, too."
Tweet on X (formerly Twitter), June 5, 2023
"Here’s how we protect Taiwan without going to war with China: open a branch of the NRA in Taiwan, put an AR-15 in the hands of every family, and train them how to use it. That’ll give Xi Jinping a taste of American exceptionalism."
Military intervention across Mexican border
Ramaswamy's position on using force inside Mexico is unclear. He is in favor of using military force at the border.
"We’re going to smoke the terrorists on our own southern border and that’s how I’m going to lead this country."
"I hope to build a good relationship with that next president of Mexico. We'll use our own military to seal our own southern border. What we need to do is stop using our military to protect somebody else's border halfway around the world when we're short right here at home. Get serious about protecting this border."
Statement at The Vivek Show podcast, June 15, 2023
"I believe if we can't secure our southern border by other means, it is a legally, morally, and ethically justified use of U.S. military resources to secure our southern border."
"In line with even norms like posse comitatus which says we can't use the military to law enforcement functions, that's different from using the military to actually securing literally the border itself. But there is a deeper question in our country that we sometimes side step and avoid frankly. Many conservatives do certainly. But by focusing exclusively on the border issue without addressing what our policy ought to be on immigration itself, you can say the immigration system is broken and it is, but part of the reason it is broken is that we first have to decide what our objectives are. What are we trying to achieve through immigration in the first place."
"...One of the things i hope this presidential primary season does is that we smoke out where we stand not just on the lengths that we would go to achieve border security, but also what we hope to achieve through our system of legal immigration. I think once we have identified that objective than reforming it accordingly becomes that much easier."
Arms Trade Treaty
Our research has not indicated a position on this topic.