Vivek Ramaswamy's MSNBC Interview Gets Heated When Confronted with Past Trump Criticism

So Vivek Ramaswamy, I want to talk to you about, because he's somebody who got very, he was openly critical of Donald Trump on June 6th, very openly critical. But now he seems to be running as Trump's chief complimenter, the bootlicker in chief to Donald Trump. And yet, reporters on the left and the right are going back and looking at his prior statements, trying to figure out who's the real Vivek? Like, does he love Trump? Does he think Jan 6th was deeply problematic? Like, what's the truth? And this guy, Mehdi Hassan, who I can't stand over on MSNBC, had a very contentious exchange with Vivek. I would submit it doesn't reflect well on our friend Vivek, but I want to know what you think. Here's what happened. You say he behaved in downright abhorrent behavior that makes him a danger to democracy. What was it that was downright? Tell me what he did that was downright abhorrent. Let's actually be really fair to your audience. So on January 10th, 2021, thereabouts, days after that incident, I wrote an op ed in The Wall Street Journal arguing that censorship was the real cause of what happened on January 6th. When asked in response, somebody asked me the question, are you that? That's well, that's what I wrote. I'm giving you the facts of what I said. That's a hard fact that was published in The Wall Street Journal when pressed on. Was that condoning what Trump did? My answer was no. There's a difference between a bad judgment and a crime. And we need to be able to tell the difference in this country. I'm not avoiding your view. That was downright abhorrent. Second time. I think that the thing that I would have done differently if I were in his shoes, that's not what I asked. I would have declared reelection on January 7th. I'll ask that's exactly the thing. What did Trump do that was egregious, quote, downright abhorrent and a danger to democracy? Can you just explain to our viewers your words? So so so you're you're mixing two different goals. But what did I think was reprehensible about what happened that day? Look, I think that the way a true leader should have handled that situation should have been to actually say, this is me running for reelection, not actually litigating what is already passed in behind us. And I would have done things differently. That is not a crime, though. What I understand and the reason I have been so vehement keeps saying what you would have done. I just want to hear from your mouth. No, no, I would. Unless you're scared of him. Why wouldn't you say what he did that was downright abhorrent? I'm not going to let you stitch. I'm going to be stitching together three things with the tweet. Do you want to trump? Do you want to have an actual conversation? Yes, I want you to answer my question. Three times I've asked it. What did Trump do? And it was downright abhorrent. It's a simple question. It's your words. It's on screen. I think what did he do that was downright abhorrent? I believe that failing to unite this country falls short of what a true leader ought to do. That is why I'm in this race is to do things differently than any prior president has done them. That's the hard truth. OK, that's what the media and the. Well, the reality is none of that is a crime. And the reason I have been so vocal. OK, the reason I have been so vocal is because when somebody actually prosecutes somebody for a bad judgment and I've been clear, I understand your objections to the litigation, I would have made different judgments. That's why I understand the distinction we have to draw. Understood. What's your reaction to that, Jesse? Megan, the right has a condition right now that they're going to have to be very careful of. If you don't mind, I'll take a minute if you don't mind with this. But our condition on the right right now is desperation. We look around if you're somebody just a relatively normal person and your country just lost its mind like 15 minutes ago. You don't have any cultural institutions. You can't watch a football game or put your kid in the Boy Scouts without having to talk about transsexuals. This is not the country you grew up in. And now you're desperate and desperate. People will oftentimes grab a hold of something that they should not grab a hold of because it just sounds like any port, any port in a storm, as the old saying goes. That's Vivek. That's what Vivek is for the right. I have a theory. It's only a theory. I have nothing to back this up. I have a theory that the Trump campaign brilliantly, if they actually did this, it's a brilliant move, which I totally support that they got him. I know he knows Jared Kushner. Vivek and Jared are friends. I think they talked him into the race. So he'll get into the race and take a bunch of the far right wing votes away from DeSantis. That's why Vivek will attack every candidate and does in the race all the time. But he can't stop giving Donald Trump foot rubs every single day. Anybody paying attention can see Vivek is there on behalf of Donald Trump, whether that was designed and planned or whether he just did it because he wants to be VP or something like that. That's why he's in the race. And that's why he changed positions on things within the course of six months. He just looks around and sees whatever the right wants to hear because we're desperate to hear something right now. And that's what he decides to say. And it's obviously not what he believes. But look, desperate people, they reach out and they grab a hold of anything that looks nice. Hmm. I'll say I mentioned this to my audience. You know, I have conflicting feelings on Vivek because I love his anti-woke stuff. But this like his behavior as a candidate has been less than stellar to be charitable. And one of the things that's jumping out at me is it's annoying. Like he is sort of the smartest one in the class who's always correcting everybody else. I know better than you do. I know I'm the only one who can do it. I'm the only courageous one out here. All the rest of you suck. And there it's maybe you think that maybe you think every other Republican candidate sucks and you think Vivek is the shining light. In my experience, the seven foot center doesn't tell you how tall he is. And yet that is exactly what you hear from Vivek on his own courage and bravery. We've cut a soundbite. Listen, I'm the only person on the stage who isn't bought and paid for so I can say this. The climate change agenda is a hoax. I am the only person bringing clear strategic vision to our foreign policy. Pardon Donald Trump. I'm the only candidate on the stage who had the courage to actually say in the conversation I'm having with you guys being far more honest than any politician that I know in the last 10 years in this country. We have to offer an affirmative vision of our own. I was the only candidate in this race that's been doing that so far. How do you navigate to Santa's first Trump? So I navigated by saying that what we really need is a courageous leader. I don't think the two of them are. I don't think so. There are additional I could have listed 25 tweets where he I'm the only one with the courage. I'm the only one with the courage to tell you what's real. And then it will be insert some new position that he changed over the past week because he got hit by the media or by the right or by his competitor on having an untenable position. Yeah, look, Megan is used car salesman. It is what he is. I haven't liked him at all from the very beginning. It's he just it smells slimy to me. It always has smelled slimy to me. So I'm not a I'm not a big guy. But at the same time, I understand why people are right. I really do. Because he takes a lot of the correct positions on issues now, at least takes a lot of correct positions on issues. And people are dying for somebody that will step up and say, you know, hey, we don't have to pussyfoot around this. Yeah, we should eliminate the FBI. This is an organization that has become a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States of America. And they should be eliminated completely. That's that's an appropriate position to have. And when he's the only one who's willing to say it in a race, then it does make him appealing. So I get the appeal. I just that he's the first of many, Megan, who are going to come. I think 2024 is very likely going to go real, real ugly for us. And so we're going to be real desperate after that. And there'll be many, many Vivecs in the future who are going to come in and sound just so perfect and say all the right things. And they're probably not going to be. Look in the mirror. You see those dark spots? Well, they're not going to go away on their own. Introducing the Dark Spot Corrector from Genucel, perfect for summer. The Dark Spot Corrector with not one but three cutting edge ingredients goes to work fast to target sunspots, dark spots, liver spots, even old discoloration, both on your face and hands. Enjoy your summer sun, beach, and barbecues without embarrassing spots. With Genucel, you'll see the results or you'll get your money back. No questions asked. Go to Genucel.com right now. Get your Dark Spot Corrector with the new Genucel Most Popular Package and say goodbye to those pesky spots tomorrow. And if you're not blown away with the results, get 100% of your money back. Visit Genucel.com slash MK60 right now for these amazing summer essentials and save over 70% off Genucel's Most Popular Package. Don't wait. Free shipping, free returns, and the best luxury skincare you've ever used all at 70% off. Genucel.com slash MK60. That's G-E-N-U-C-E-L.com slash MK60. All orders include a mystery luxury gift while supplies last. Hey, thanks so much for watching. If you like what you just saw, hit the subscribe button for more clips and full episodes.