Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has voiced his opposition to the potential blacklisting of Harvard students who are part of groups that endorsed an anti-Israel letter following the recent Hamas terror attack on Israel.
In a statement on X, Ramaswamy expressed his disapproval of the students' actions, but cautioned against punishing them for their political affiliations. "The Harvard student groups who co-signed the anti-Israel letter are simple fools," he stated. "But its not productive for companies to blacklist kids for being members of student groups that make dumb political statements on campus."
Ramaswamy, who has been a vocal critic of left-wing cancel culture, as evidenced in his book "Woke, Inc.", argued that universities should be spaces for intellectual exploration, even if that sometimes leads to misguided ideas. He further criticized the practice of firing individuals for their political beliefs, citing instances of Trump supporters losing their jobs and recent graduates being required to sign 'DEI' pledges to secure employment.
While Ramaswamy "vehemently disagrees" with the student groups' actions, he empathized with those calling for their blacklisting, acknowledging their response as one of "understandable hurt." He expressed confidence that, given time, they would concur with his stance against cancel-culture tactics.
Contrastingly, former President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, condemned the universities for allowing or enabling open hatred against Israel and America. He criticized university deans for their inaction as student groups called for a National Day of Resistance, which he labeled as "antisemitic" and "anti-American." Trump advocated for the expulsion of these groups from campuses, questioning the selective application of cancel culture.
During the August GOP presidential debate hosted by Fox News, Nikki Haley accused Ramaswamy of wanting to "defund Israel." In response, Ramaswamy asserted his commitment to strengthening the US-Israel relationship, describing it as a friendship rather than a client relationship. He pledged to lead the Abraham Accords 2.0 and partner with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear-armed.
Ramaswamy expressed admiration for Israel's border and crime policies, as well as its national identity and protective Iron Dome. "You know what I love about them, I love their border policies, I love their tough-on-crime policies, I love that they have a national identity and an Iron Dome to protect their homeland, so yes I want to learn from the friends that were supporting," he concluded.
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