Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has faced scrutiny for accepting a scholarship from the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, which was founded by the late Paul Soros, brother of liberal billionaire financier George Soros.
Ramaswamy defended his decision, stating that he accepted the $90,000 award because he "didn't have the money" to afford Yale Law School after graduating from Harvard.
The scholarship in question was a merit-based award that hundreds of students win, and it was partially funded by Paul Soros. Ramaswamy emphasized that it was not funded by George Soros himself. He explained, "To be perfectly honest with you, I would have had to be a fool to turn down that scholarship at the age of 24."
At the time Ramaswamy accepted the scholarship in 2011, he was a first-year law student at Yale and had been working as an investment analyst at the hedge fund QVT Financial. His tax returns, released in June, revealed that he reported a total income of $2,252,209 in 2011 and $1,173,690 in the three years prior.
Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, defended his acceptance of the scholarship, stating, "Vivek won a generic scholarship that hundreds of students win to attend graduate school. It was funded by a relative of George Soros who is long dead." McLaughlin further emphasized that turning down such a scholarship would have been unwise, adding, "Anyone who would have shouldn't get anywhere near the White House doing trade deals."
McLaughlin's comments may have been in response to remarks made by George Soros at the Munich Security Conference in February. Soros expressed his desire for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to win the Republican primary, hoping that former President Donald Trump would then launch a third-party campaign, leading to a split in the GOP vote and a "Democratic landslide."
Despite the controversy surrounding the scholarship, Ramaswamy remains focused on his presidential campaign. As the Republican primary unfolds, he aims to present himself as a viable candidate, emphasizing his conservative values and policy proposals.
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