At a time where the world is looking to the United States for strong, steady leadership, Vivek Ramaswamy peddled antisemitic tropes and downplayed a deadly terrorist attack on an American ally. When confronted about his comments by Fox News host Sean Hannity, Ramaswamy doubled down and defended his comments. Ramaswamy’s actions are proving yet again that his MAGA foreign policy vision would be disastrous for America and our allies. 

Instead of showing support for Israel, Ramaswamy used antisemitic tropes to downplay a deadly terrorist attack on an American ally. 

Mediaite: “GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy used an anti-Semitic trope to explain the Republican Party’s concern for Israel in the wake of a terrorist attack by Hamas that left hundreds dead and saw others kidnapped and raped over the weekend. During an interview with Tucker Carlson on Tuesday, Ramaswamy lamented that his competition for the nomination were ‘ignoring the interests of the U.S. right here at home’ as well as other conflicts around the world.”

Mediaite: “His explanation for what he implied was a ‘shameful’ and disproportionate focus on the rape, kidnapping, and murder of Jew for the crime of being Jews was ‘that there are, frankly, financial and corrupting influences that lead them exactly to speak the way they do.’

“‘That’s just the hard truth,’ added Ramaswamy who said that the reaction to the death and destruction in Israel reflected a ‘selective moral outrage.’”

Ramaswamy doubled down on his shameful comments last night – and even Sean Hannity called him out on it.

Daily Beast: “Sean Hannity and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy got into a tense discussion about Israel Thursday after the Fox News host asked the 2024 hopeful to defend comments he made on the topic in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson.

“Ramaswamy accused Republicans of having ‘selective moral outrage’ at the terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel, and claimed that some who advocate a more forceful military response are swayed by financial incentives.”

HuffPost: “Hannity grilled Ramaswamy over his comments about Israel during an interview earlier this week with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. When Ramaswamy claimed Hannity was mischaracterizing his comments, Hannity pointed to the candidate’s history of lying about his positions.”

Hannity to Ramaswamy: “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? … Here’s your problem: You go on these shows, people quote your exact words, and you deny your own words.”

This is nothing new for Ramaswamy – he has repeatedly called to defund aid to Israel.

Haaretz: “Vivek Ramaswamy, in Favor of Ending Israel Aid, Opposes U.S. Military Force Against Iran”

Washington Free Beacon: “Ramaswamy: Cut Off Aid to Israel After 2028”

Vanity Fair: “Ramaswamy has called for scaling back US aid to Israel by 2028” 

The Jerusalem Post: “US must reduce aid given to Israel, Republican candidate Ramaswamy says”

The Hill: “[Ramaswamy] has said that he would negotiate an Abraham Accords 2.0 that he contended would incorporate Israel into the rest of the Middle East such that it wouldn’t be necessary to continue providing aid to the country after 2028.”