GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s attacks on fellow candidate Nikki Haley got called out Thursday by Fox News’s Sean Hannity, and boy was it a doozy.
Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Ramaswamy was asked to respond to the remarks he’s been making about Haley as it concerns her response to the Hamas terror attack on Israel.
In an interview earlier in the week with Tucker Carlson, he slammed certain politicians’ “selective nature” of focusing on the conflict in Israel over “other conflicts” and “ignoring the interests of the U.S. right here at home.”
Of Haley in particular, he said, “I think that she is somebody that, like many politicians, is in a position to get wealthier from war.”
Ep. 29 After the Hamas attacks, what’s the wise path forward? pic.twitter.com/AwWkcLFUBb
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) October 9, 2023
The interview on “Hannity” began with the eponymous host reading back to Ramaswamy what he’d said.
“You’re saying that her concern for Israel is driven by financial and a corrupting influence. And your explanation that there is a disproportionate focus on rape, kidnapping and murder of the Jewish people in this attack and, your quote, ‘That there are, frankly, financial and corrupting influences that lead them exactly to speak the way they do,'” he said to Ramaswamy.
Immediately, the GOP presidential hopeful cried foul, claiming, “Sean, that is a shameful mischaracterization.”
Hannity did not appreciate the obfuscation.
Watch what happened next below:
“Hey, Vivek, wait a minute, stop right now. You do this in every single interview. You say stuff and then you deny it. You deny your own words. So, you know, why don’t you just own what you say and stand by it and stop playing these games?” Hannity barked back.
Ramaswamy responded by condemning the “barbaric” terror attack on Israel but stressing that he thinks America should come first.
“Where I differ from other candidates in this field is that I also believe that this is Israel’s decision to make. The U.S. should stand with Israel, but we need to be very careful not to enter a broader regional war in the Middle East,” he said.
Hannity then asked Ramaswamy for “an exact explanation” for why he’d accused Haley of being motivated by money vis-a-vis Israel.
“I want an exact explanation for your exact comments that are there ‘frankly financial and corrupting influences that lead them exactly to speak the way that they do.’ What are financial corrupting influences that Nikki Haley is taking a position on?” he said.
“We’ve got pictures of dead babies decapitated, burned babies’ bodies. We’ve got the equivalent of what would be, population-wise in the U.S. over 37,000 dead Americans. So, how much more evidence do you need? What are you talking about?!” he added.
Ramaswamy initially refused to reply, instead choosing to condemn the terror attack in Israel again, but then Hannity shouted, “Answer the question!”
This time, the presidential hopeful answered it.
“Well, the fact of the matter is, I think anybody who has been a military contractor, anybody who has made $8 million, including on serving on the board of Boeing, collecting stock options while running for U.S. president, on corporate boards, has made money for military contracting through a family business, is disqualified from being the U.S. president in a time of war. I think we cannot see our march to World War III in this country,” he said.
This prompted Hannity to call out Ramaswamy.
“Well, a lot of people don’t think you’re qualified because you weren’t even a Republican or voting Republican until, what, 2020?” he said.
“Well, Sean, it depends on what your objectives with this interview are. I voted libertarian in my first election, I voted Republican in 2020. You’re right, I’m not a partisan hack. I come in from the outside. I’m an independent-minded patriot,” Ramaswamy replied.
“It sounds to me like you just want to jump from the private sector yourself, where you made a lot of money,” Hannity responded.
“Sean, I applaud you for being so transparent about your objectives,” the GOP presidential hopeful said.
“I actually think the people working in the defense of our country and the defense industry are playing a vital role for the cause of freedom. So I don’t really call it a corrupting influence or suggest that somehow suggest that’s a corrupting influence,” Hannity responded.
Ramaswamy then finally took a swipe of his own, bashing Hannity for not being as good of an interviewer as Carlson.
“One of the things I loved about that interview with Tucker was we were actually able to have a thoughtful conversation and go deep into issues rather than this kind of political got-you,” he said.
Hannity responded by calling him out again.
“Listen, praise Tucker all you want. I like Tucker. I got along great with him. But here’s your problem, you go on these shows, people quote your exact words, and you deny your own words,” he rightly noted.
“I’m enjoying this. You have been laughing about the fake news media how many times for the last several years? And now you’re buying the mainstream media narrative when you know how corrupt it is. This is a corrupt game. The super PAC puppets are a problem,” Ramaswamy replied.
He later doubled down on the “fake news” narrative in a tweet:
For years, @seanhannity has railed against “fake news.” I guess he’s become it. My comments about lobbyists were about Azerbaijan, not Israel. This interview was sponsored by @NikkiHaley pic.twitter.com/SUSR3YbixP
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) October 13, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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