Vivek Ramaswamy Has No Idea What He’s Talking About
August 17, 2023
As Vivek Ramaswamy unveils his extreme MAGA foreign policy vision tonight, here’s a reminder that Ramaswamy has repeatedly made clear that he has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to foreign policy and standing with our allies. His foreign policy “plan” includes letting China invade Taiwan, rewarding Putin for his bloody war in Ukraine, and leaving the United Nations.
Ramaswamy is unashamedly floating a plan to let China attack Taiwan.
Ramaswamy: “We will further deter China from annexing Taiwan by shifting from strategic ambiguity to strategic clarity: we will defend until 2029 but not afterward.”
Washington Examiner: “Vivek Ramaswamy cuts off interview after floating plan to let China attack Taiwan after 2028”
Ramaswamy: “Our interests include Taiwan until we have achieved semiconductor independence. … after the end of my first term, we will be in a position to say our commitments will be different. Xi Jinping will not go for Taiwan until the end of my first term.”
The Dispatch: “‘I know this is a little uncouth to say,’ Ramaswamy says. ‘Once we have truly achieved semiconductor independence, I think the calculus changes.’ Does that mean the U.S. would no longer care either way whether China took over Taiwan by military force? ‘We care a lot less, yeah; we care a lot less. What I’m willing to do in that scenario is very different.’ Those comments could ruffle the feathers of traditional Republicans, who tend to favor U.S. support for fellow democracies.”
Ramaswamy: “My message to China is clear. Do not mess with Taiwan before 2028. And before 2028, our commitments are strong. After 2028, we have semiconductor independence. We have very different commitments, lower commitments, significantly lower commitments.”
To make matters worse, Ramaswamy has also suggested that Taiwan could defend itself by handing guns to every Taiwanese household.
Ramaswamy: “There are other elements of the Taiwan porcupine strategy up to and including putting a gun in every Taiwanese household, training them how to use them. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Washington Times: “Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is convinced that he has figured out a way to stop China from invading Taiwan: Give the Taiwanese people guns.”
Ramaswamy: “You want China not to invade Taiwan? Here is something we can do: The NRA can open its branch next time in Taiwan. And you want to stop Xi Jinping from invading Taiwan, put a gun in every Taiwanese household, have them defend themselves, let’s see what Xi Jinping does then.”
Ramaswamy’s stance on Taiwan is no surprise: He had no problem cozying up to China when it benefited his business.
The New Republic: “GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Who Used to Do Business With China, Wants to Ban Business With China”
“Vivek Ramaswamy, the former biotech executive who announced his run for the Republican presidential nomination this week, has made China a central part of his message on the right-wing speaker circuit and Fox News. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed explaining his candidacy, he called the country ‘the greatest external threat to America’ and argued, ‘We must even be willing to bar U.S. companies from expanding into China until its government abandons theft and other mercantilist tactics.’ Just a few years ago, though, Ramaswamy was expanding his own business into China.”
On top of all this, Ramaswamy is advocating for rewarding Putin for his unjust war in Ukraine and promised to end America’s support of Ukraine — posing a threat to our allies and democracy itself.
Politico: “Ramaswamy spoke to POLITICO reporters in their offices Monday just one day after he told ABC News that the U.S. could end the fighting by making ‘some major concessions’ to Russia. NatSec Daily pressed him after the meeting on what that would mean.
“‘Putin would end [up] with Crimea and most of the Donbas,’ he told us. Furthermore, NATO should vow that Ukraine won’t join the alliance and the U.S. should restore ‘full economic relations’ with Russia. ‘Those are big concessions,’ he underscored.”
CBS News: “If Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wins the presidency, he says he would end U.S. support for Ukraine and instead broker a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.”
“And as part of the settlement, he said he would suspend U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, prevent Kyiv from joining NATO and lift Western sanctions against the Kremlin. He would also withdraw all troops from Ukraine and close all bases in Eastern Europe.”
Ramaswamy: “What I think we need to do is end the Ukraine war on peaceful terms that yes, do make some major concessions to Russia.”
Ramaswamy claimed that Boris Johnson encouraged the war in Ukraine.
The Times: “[Ramaswamy] said that he suspects that Boris Johnson encouraged President Zelensky to continue fighting last year to distract British voters from the domestic scandals assailing his premiership. While adding the caveat that ‘I haven’t talked to Boris’ about the matter, he said, ‘I think it was a deflection tactic’ because ‘[Johnson] was going through trouble at home, and he does what many leaders do, go and create a kerfuffle or fuel a kerfuffle abroad, to deflect attention for your own failures.’”
Ramaswamy even wants the United States to leave the UN and for it to be disbanded altogether.
Daily Mail: “2024 Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s sensational idea: the United States should LEAVE the United Nations and there is no reason for ‘its continued existence’”