Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy clashed with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins over a clip of remarks that he made about arming the Taiwanese people who are under the serious threat of an invasion from communist China as she sought to damage him in advance of the upcoming GOP primary debate.
The youthful biotech entrepreneur who has impressed conservatives with his candid and fresh approach to the issues appeared on the left-wing cable news network as one of his string of media appearances but soon found out that he had ventured into hostile territory when Collins resorted to a favorite CNN tactic of using footage lacking proper context to set up “gotcha” ambushes.
Following a testy exchange with the network’s newest primetime star over his refusal to attack former President Donald J. Trump, the segment became even more heated when Collins tried to discredit his views on foreign policy which will likely be a topic during Wednesday’s debate.
(Video: CNN)
“One thing that you will likely be asked about on Wednesday night is foreign policy and you’ve recently said that to protect Taiwan you would do this,” Collins said as she aired the snippet of her guest’s comments at a campaign event in Iowa.
“Guess what, we’ll put a gun in every Taiwanese household, train them how to use it, that is how you make Xi Jinping think twice,” Ramaswamy told the audience in the clip.
“Do you really think that would be a sufficient plan to deter a Chinese invasion if it includes long-range missiles, ground troops, an aerial blockade, a naval blockade?” Collins asked, her voice dripping with condescension.
“Kaitlan, Kaitlan, Kaitlan, Kaitlan, Kaitlan,” the candidate responded.
“Of course it’s not sufficient. You take that tiny little clip when I’ve articulated at the Nixon Library last week, a one-hour speech with a whole range of deterrents. That is part of it, but I’ve also said that I would pull Russia out of its military alliance with China. I’ve also said that we would bolster our partnership with India…,” he said, adding a list of other policy proposals to address the tensions in the region.
“I’ve also said that we would actually send a signal very clearly that we will defend Taiwan,” he continued, “moving from strategic ambiguity to strategic clarity to say that we will defend Taiwan until we have semiconductor independence in this country.”
“Yes, part of this is turning Taiwan into a porcupine. I think exporting our Second Amendment is a relatively free or low-cost way to do that, but I find it laughable that you will take that clip and then put words into my mouth as though that was a sufficient deterrent. Kaitlan, with due respect, that’s a joke, especially when I’ve offered as expansive of a deterrent strategy as I have.”
Collins tried to defend her dirty trick, “It’s not putting words into your mouth and it’s not saying that you didn’t say those other things, it’s just saying that you did say that part of your…”
“I never said it was sufficient,” Ramaswamy shot back. “I never said it was sufficient. This is really funny, Kaitlan. It’s been very educational for me to learn how media works.”
“Kaitlan, you might be able to do this trick better with other candidates who don’t really know how to respond to the game,” he later said, adding. “I will not allow someone to put words in my mouth and say that I ever said that was sufficient. It is not.”
Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
- Radio Free Europe sues Trump admin, Kari Lake over defunding of its left-wing propaganda - March 19, 2025
- Website provides nationwide map doxxing Tesla owners, encourages domestic terrorism - March 19, 2025
- J6 committee members clap back after Trump yanks their pardons — but one is strangely silent - March 18, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.