Vivek Hit Trump First

The headlines say Trump attacked Ramaswamy, but that isn't exactly how it went down.

Yesterday, Twitter blew up after Trump sent a Truth post attacking Vivek Ramaswamy.

This has ignited a war on Twitter, with DeSantis supporters piling on, mocking laughter from Democrats, and many defending and standing up for Vivek Ramaswamy:

This video is making the rounds of Vivek Ramaswamy convincing a voter that the establishment will never allow Trump to win and that their best hope is to vote for him.

For his part, Vivek Ramaswamy attempted to take the high road while also using the moment as a way to boost his own profile:

So what’s really going on? The answer can be found in Vivek’s 1776 video, wherein there is a shot of Trump golfing right after a shot of Obama and his Netflix deal. This puts the two men on the same side as the elite ruling class, the establishment, and attempts to cast Ramaswamy as the outsider.

Here is the video:

Minute 3:15, and the text:

“Back then, the Presidents who left the White House became scholars of Sanskrit. Today they sign Netflix deals and go play a round of golf.”

Right, that’s what Trump has been doing since leaving office, not fighting for his life after the FBI raided his home, being indicted four times, relentlessly sued into bankruptcy, and treated like a terrorist in his own country.

Of course, Ramaswamy can criticize Trump all he likes. That’s what Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are doing all through their campaigns, not to mention Dean Phillips on the Left. But he shouldn’t lie to Trump supporters about his intentions, not to mention spreading the lie that Trump is a member of the elites playing golf while Rome burns.

I don’t know what else is going on behind the scenes, or what the motivations are here. Ramaswamy wants to win, so does Trump. They both want the votes from MAGA in Iowa. No secret there. But the idea that Trump “attacked” Ramaswamy from out of nowhere is also wrong.

I’ve supported Ramaswamy for a long time, even before he ever decided to run for office. I admired his attacks against “woke capitalism.” At heart, I think he wants to influence and lead this country for the best of reasons. And I also believe he will play whatever part he thinks will get him there, which makes him look a bit like a shapeshifter. He’s not a politician, so none of this is contrived or planned out or focus-grouped. He’s just trying to win like everyone else.

He went from an earnest guy in a red tie to a tough guy in a leather jacket in a single election cycle. Then, a comedian mocked him on TikTok, and he completely changed his look. The leather jacket guy resonates better.

The Vivek impersonator then opted for the leather jacket too:

His videos have been very pro-Trump, which has allowed many MAGA supporters to gravitate toward him. Others have pointed out that he’s completely changed his stance on January 6th and that’s proof that he has no real principles but will go wherever he thinks will get him the most votes. That’s politics as usual. Don’t bother running if you don’t want to win.

I have found him to be a breath of fresh air, personally, speaking truth to power and helping to ease some of the frustration I feel with what our government is becoming. Obviously, his youth is an asset. He can bring in younger voters. But getting into a war with Trump is exactly the wrong thing to do. It just helps the Democrats drive a wedge through the base.

The worst thing about this is what the mainstream media will do with it. Now, it will be agonizing columns by people like Charlie Sykes at the Bulwark, then the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board will have a go at it, and maybe Jonah Goldberg at the Free Press will sink his teeth in.

All the angry Never Trumpers, the DeSantis folks like Dave Rubin, and the Haley people will all use the moment to dump on Trump. And yes, I realize Trump makes it easy to do that. He probably should never have said anything. But I can only imagine what he might have felt, watching that 1776 video and seeing what the Ramaswamy team really thinks of him.

Politics aside, the more harmful effect will be yet more accusations that Trump and MAGA are racists — a predictable path waiting for those with their knives out.

Ramaswamy drew the comparison on his own, calling himself a “skinny kid with a funny name.” However, attempts to associate him as an evil man of color will only hurt MAGA voters. That’s low-hanging fruit for the left.

There is one other thing to consider, and that’s the war in Gaza. It might not be readily apparent, but one thing that distinguishes Ramaswamy from every other candidate on the Right is his subtle but noticeable “anti-Israel” stance.

He doesn’t come right out and say it, but we can read between the lines. He is on the same page as, say, Tucker Carlson (focus on our problems, not the problems of other countries), and most notably, Candace Owens, who recently campaigned with Ramaswamy (yes, even after having a baby) and did a show on Tim Pool’s podcast the same day Trump had his Fox Town Hall.

Here is Candace Owens endorsing Vivek Ramaswamy, calling him “genetically gifted” and “The most brilliant person we have ever seen in politics”:

The dividing line here is Israel, whether anyone wants to admit it. Eventually, that is the one thing that distinguishes Trump and Ramaswamy. And that is what will drive a wedge through the base of MAGA and likely will cause a re-alignment politically, with Israel right in the middle.

So far, I haven’t heard Ramaswamy talking about it much, except to take the Tucker Carlson approach and say they have a right to defend themselves but leave us out of it. We know Candace Owens sees it very differently. She is on the “Israel is committing genocide” train. This will likely become a much bigger talking point in the coming months.

A while back, I made the case that a Trump/Ramaswamy ticket would be ideal. Trump would have an ally and advocate while battling in court and campaigning. Then, Ramaswamy could take two terms after that, serving a total of 12 years. There goes that dream.