Vivek Ramaswamy brought his ascendant GOP presidential campaign to Erick Erickson’s The Gathering event Saturday and left to a lengthy and loud standing ovation. Recent polls have shown the 38-year-old biotech millionaire from Ohio surging to second place in the Republican field, with the first GOP debate scheduled for Wednesday night.
During his remarks, he referred to former President Donald Trump and the other GOP presidential as his “colleagues.” But during a gaggle with reporters later, he went a step further and promised to pardon Trump “on day one” for any federal convictions against the former president if he’s elected. No president would be able to pardon Trump for the state-level charges in Georgia.
“I think that’s gonna be important for healing this country moving forward,” Ramaswamy said.
He also called the multiple indictments against Trump “disastrous.”
“I think (the indictments) set a dangerous precedent for the ruling party to use police force in the middle of an election against political opponents,” he said. “That’s not justice. That is the politicization of justice.”
Moment earlier, Ramaswamy energized the crowd of about 1,000 conservatives with his plan to defeat “woke smoke” and lead a “national revival” and new American revolution.
Heavy on expansive pro-American themes and light on specifics in the 45-minute session, he blamed “the fourth branch” of government, namely the federal bureaucracy, for dividing Americans for decades.
“I think the way we get to national unity is by actually embracing the radicalism and the extremism of the American founding ideals ourselves,” he said. “Free speech, open debate. self governance, the idea that ‘we the people’ create a government that is accountable to us and not the other way around.”
- Full speech story: Surging GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy touts age, vision at Gathering
- Live updates: Latest from The Gathering
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