3rd GOP Debate: Vivek Ramaswamy sparks controversy, criticising the GOP as ‘party of losers’ and calling Ukrainian President Zelensky a ‘Nazi’
Indian American presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy came out all guns blazing during Wednesday’s third Republican primary, describing the GOP as a “party of losers” and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “Nazi.”
At the third Republican debate in Miami, Florida on Wednesday, Ramaswamy offered a sobering assessment of the GOP’s performance in recent years including on Tuesday, when conservative-leaning Ohio voted to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. He said that a “cancer” exists in the GOP establishment, blaming in part Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel for recent election losses.
“We’ve become a party of losers at the end of the day,” he said. “We have to have accountability in our party. For that matter, Ronna, if you want to come on stage tonight and look the GOP voters in the eye and tell them you resign, I will turn over, yield my time to you,” he added.
Read More: ‘Nobody’s hands are clean,’ Both sides are at fault in Israel-Hamas war, Says Barack Obama
ABSENCE OF TRUMP
All five Republican presidential hopefuls clashed on the debate stage Wednesday over Ukraine, China, and the future path of the party, while saving some of their ire for the absent frontrunner, Donald Trump. While they appeared united in their support of Israel and its war against Hamas, the challengers engaged in a tense third televised debate barely two months before the all-important first votes in the White House nomination battle.
Read More: ‘Answer Questions Only, No Speeches’: How New York City Judge Tackled an Angry Donald Trump
During the GOP Debate, the Ohio-based businessman also took a shot at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said Ukraine is not a paragon of democracy. “This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. It has consolidated all media into one state TV media arm. That’s not democratic. It has threatened not to hold elections this year unless the US forks over more money. That is not democratic,” Ramaswamy said.
“It celebrated a Nazi in its ranks — the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelensky — doing it in their own ranks. That is not democratic,” he continued. Ramaswamy, a prominent critic of Ukraine, has called for a halt in aid to the country. In a recent proposal, he suggested a foreign policy plan endorsing the cession of Ukrainian territory to Russia as a resolution to the ongoing conflict.
Zelensky asserted this week that holding elections is untimely, citing logistical challenges due to Ukrainians fleeing the war. Ramaswamy criticised a law limiting press freedom, signed last year, giving the Ukrainian government more regulatory control over press outlets. In late-month emergency spending, the Biden administration sought USD 100 billion, including USD 61 billion for Ukraine aid. Congressional Republicans, split on the measure, also consider support for Israel amid the Gaza conflict.
(With agency inputs)
