Republican debate: Vivek Ramaswamy had the night’s strongest close
Madeline Fry Schultz
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Vivek Ramaswamy either did very well or very poorly on the Republican debate stage Wednesday night, depending on who you ask.
Certainly, more attention went to him than expected: Ramaswamy angled his way to the second-highest speaking time, and the entrepreneur, who has been closing in on Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in the polls, came out swinging, though he was walloped by Chris Christie (for mimicking former President Barack Obama) and Nikki Haley (for his ludicrous foreign policy ideas).
UP FOR DEBATE: WHERE TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND REST OF REPUBLICAN 2024 FIELD STAND ON KEY ISSUES
Importantly, however, Ramaswamy had the distinction of delivering the night’s strongest closing statement.
“I was born in 1985,” he began, ever eager to separate himself from the seeming octogenarians around him, “and I grew up into a generation where we were taught to celebrate our diversity and our differences so much that we forgot all of the ways that we are really just the same as Americans, bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion in 1776.”
He continued:
“And this is our moment to revive those common ideals: God is real. There are two genders. Fossil fuels are a requirement for human prosperity. Reverse racism is racism. An open border is not a border. Parents determine the education of their children. The nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to man. Capitalism lifts us up from poverty. There are three branches of government, not four. And the U.S. Constitution, it is the strongest guarantor of freedom in human history. That is what won us the American revolution; that is what will win us the revolution of 2024.”
While other candidates delivered canned generalizations about American prosperity, Ramaswamy made specific claims about what makes America great. With ideas such as “there are two genders” suddenly up for debate, the GOP cannot afford to hide behind generalizations and platitudes. Ramaswamy made some punchy, specific claims on the debate stage Wednesday night. Other candidates should take note.