Vivek Ramaswamy sidesteps Donald Trump’s controversial ‘eating pets’ claims

Indian-American millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy proved during his short-lived presidential run that he loves to stoke controversy. The biotech entrepreneur made many outrageous claims and did not hold back in attacking the opposition. He claimed that the January 6 insurrection was an “inside job” and that the American government lied to its citizens about the 9/11 attacks, Politico reported.
It’s not surprising on his part, as he looks up to Donald Trump, and would be rooting for the former president in the fast-approaching November 5 elections.
But Ramaswamy, it seems, has found a fire he prefers not to stoke, the one Trump sparked during the presidential debate. The Republican presidential nominee, in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, got cornered on the issue of immigration. His response was to claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating pets.
“They are eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame,” he said.
Trump’s remarks were based on social media rumours and forced the debate moderator to fact-check him.
Ramaswamy was asked about the claim while he was addressing a crowd of reporters in Springfield, Ohio, but he seemed to sidestep it.
“I think the reality is, whether residents of this community are lying or not, that’s, I think, for other people to adjudicate,” he said.“But I do think that residents of this community have been raising their hand pleading for help and have not gotten attention at the federal level. And yet that’s sad, because this is an embodiment of, I think, failed federal policies.”
And shortly after his response, Ramaswamy was saved as local authorities looked to find a man with a rifle forcing Ramaswamy’s team to cancel plans to do a walking interview with a reporter to the town hall venue a few minutes away, Politico reported.
Ramaswamy went on to suggest that it wasn’t Trump’s lie and that the residents of Springfield were at fault for circulating the rumour.
That he would defend Trump is not surprising. Ramaswamy has been floated as a potential candidate, in case Trump wins the election, for the position of secretary of Homeland Security. At the same time, by not endorsing the rumour, he will look to remain credible in his home state where he might want to run for governor or senator.