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Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to an Epoch Times reporter at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition in Clive, Iowa, on April 22, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
DES MOINES, Iowa—2024 Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy burnished his pro-life bona fides at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition kick-off on April 22.
That was how he explained his stance on how abortion should be handled now that Roe v. Wade has fallen. Representatives have battled over its legal status, with many Republicans seeking to restrict it at the federal level as many Democrats try to codify its availability at that same level.
Meanwhile, state laws on abortion vary greatly.
“I think abortion is a form of murder. Murder is dealt with through state law, not federal law. I think we should be consistent about that. That’s what the Constitution demands,” Ramaswamy told The Epoch Times on April 22 at the event, held in a large auditorium near Des Moines, Iowa.
He added that he is “unapologetically pro-life.”
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to the press at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition in Clive, Iowa, on April 22, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
When it comes to his 2024 campaign, the wealthy biotech entrepreneur and anti-ESG investor has put his money where his mouth is.
The latest data from the Federal Election Commission show that, as of the end of March, Ramaswamy has loaned himself over $10 million for his campaign.
In his interview with The Epoch TImes, the biotech entrepreneur emphasized that he has also drawn numerous small dollar donations and inched upwards in the polls, despite starting out a relative unknown in politics.
“We’re about where Trump was when he came down the escalator in June of 2015. And now we’re sitting in April,” Ramaswamy said.
Response to Criticism
Ramaswamy’s appreciation for former President Donald Trump has drawn gibes from Republicans who are more critical of the former president.
An influential pro-DeSantis Twitter anon, @MaxNordau, characterized Ramaswamy as “Trump’s press secretary” in an April 19 Twitter post.
“I think the DeSantis crowd is very insecure about my candidacy,” Ramaswamy said.
He went on to criticize the Florida governor for avoiding interviews with the legacy media.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., on Apr. 14, 2023. Courtesy of Liberty University
“If you’re afraid of talking to NBC or going to a college campus, you’re not fit to serve across the table from Xi Jinping,” he said.
Writing in National Review, anti-Trump conservative Charles C.W. Cooke argued that Ramaswamy is really just “building a ginormous mailing list,” describing his pro-MAGA persona as a bad act.
“We continue to live in a golden age of firsts, and, by his own remarkable initiative, Vivek Ramaswamy seems set to become the first contender for president in American history whose approach to the race is to sell the virtues of the front-runner better than the front-runner can himself,” Cooke wrote.
“We’re very serious about this campaign,” Ramaswamy said.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to an Epoch Times reporter at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition in Clive, Iowa, on April 22, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
The candidate told The Epoch Times what he believes sets him apart from Trump.
“I’m going further than Trump ever did,” he said, before rattling off examples of what he calls America First 2.0: ending the Department of Education, using our military to take out drug cartels in Mexico, and “abandoning the climate change agenda full stop.”
Nathan Worcester is an award-winning journalist for The Epoch Times based in Washington, D.C. He frequently covers Capitol Hill, elections, and the ideas that shape our times. He has also written about energy and the environment. Nathan can be reached at [email protected]
