Vivek Ramaswamy is trying so hard to be the next GOP nominee. So, so hard.
It would help if he didn't flip flop on his positions or mimic Obama, but that's what he does. A little over a week ago, he got into a debate with Megyn Kelly about Harvard students signing the anti-Israel statements.
Yesterday, he was lying about Ron DeSantis and his order to disband a pro-Palestinian group on college campuses.
The move comes after state university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote to colleges and universities about Students for Justice in Palestine, which says they are part of the pro-Palestinian movement and not merely standing 'in solidarity' with it, and Rodrigues argues this violates Florida law regarding 'knowingly provide material support … to a designated foreign terrorist organization.'
With that background in mind, watch what Ramaswamy says:
Free speech doesn’t just protect the ideas we love. It protects the ideas we hate. The idiotic college “pro-Palestine” student groups are dead wrong to excuse genocidal attacks against Jews and spout disgusting anti-semitism, but one of the things that makes us different from… pic.twitter.com/knDsQsXbKJ
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) October 26, 2023
Yes, there is a right to free speech, but there is not a right to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations. Especially not in the wake of the terror attack in Israel, and especially not when 10 Americans are still being held hostage and 33 Americans were killed.
Vivek is directly lying to people here.
— Peter Henlein (@SwissWatchGuy) October 26, 2023
Groups weren’t removed from campuses for being “pro-Palestine”. They were removed for providing support to a federally designated terrorist group.
Sorry Vivek, but the taxpayers of Florida are under no obligation to support Hamas. https://t.co/lB8hTE30Ny
This is correct.
That's a great point - Vivek is showing he does not have the backbone to protect citizens from designated terrorist groups to written law.
— Joe Stiëf ن (@JoeStief) October 26, 2023
Disqualifying to be Commander-in-Chief.
Lots of that going around this week.
Lots of that going around.
Vivek is lying. The group in question didn’t get dinged over free speech. The issue is that they provided material aid to a terror group that deliberately slaughtered civilians.
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) October 27, 2023
People don’t dislike Vivek because of his ideas. They dislike him because he knows he has no chance… https://t.co/B3M3rtlkXY pic.twitter.com/sDWePuivBi
The tweet continues:
...he has no chance of winning this primary and he’s just running to self-promote at a time when the country is facing one crisis after another. People dislike him because he constantly declares himself totally independent and not beholden to anyone but carefully avoids criticizing Trump.
If Vivek really cared about free speech, he would attack Trump for condemning the BDS movement and declaring it anti-Semitic *as president.* He would go after Trump for signing an executive order specifically targeting boycotts against Israel and anti-Semitic speech on college campuses.
But Vivek won’t. Either he doesn’t actually care about the free speech issue or his fear of Trump is greater than his concern for that. This guy opens every sentence with something like “I’m the only candidate who isn’t leashed,” but he seems comfortable wearing Trump’s collar in the primary and acting like his attack dog.
A very good point, and it goes back Vivek's inconsistency.
Soros guy comes out in favor of state-funded Hamas affiliate groups.
— Max (@MaxNordau) October 27, 2023
I mean, what? https://t.co/tLo2Zf3y4R
What, indeed.
Incredible gaslighting. These groups were providing MATERIAL SUPPORT to terrorists. https://t.co/Q6Itmfixb9
— Cooper (#TeamDeSantis) (@yankees_28th) October 26, 2023
And therein lies the rub. That's the problem, not what they're saying, but what they're doing.
You are officially disqualified from ever being president. If you can’t see how these Hamas proxies in America shouldn’t be given a platform then you are not wise enough to be in our government. https://t.co/YuVwuns9vf
— Itsallright (@Itsallright68) October 26, 2023
Exactly this.
“Conservatives should be allowed to criticize BLM or vaccine mandates, and crazy liberals should be able to criticize Israel or the West even if they’re dead wrong about it.”
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) October 27, 2023
What an idiotic juxtaposition. This is what Pope Benedict XVI called the tyranny of moral relativism. https://t.co/knazccgMhe
One of those things is not like the other. It's not criticism of Israel or the West, it's material support for a foreign terrorist organization.
Left: "Book bans!!!"
— Joseph Ashby (@JosephAshbyShow) October 27, 2023
Nope, you're talking porn for kids when you say this.
Vivek: "Speech bans!!!"
Nope, you're talking material support to terrorists when you say this. https://t.co/vD4qD6h4NJ
Nailed it.
Material Support Statutes: Under various provisions (notably, 18 U.S.C. § 2339A and § 2339B), it is illegal to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to designated foreign terrorist organizations.
— John Gibson (@JohnGibs0n) October 27, 2023
Student visas should be revoked for supporting terrorist causes https://t.co/IvmAtWxjaL
DeSantis has also said he'll revoke student visas for Hamas supporters.
Vivek can't distinguish between not using taxpayer money to support speech and banning speech.
— Adam Locke (@AdamLocke76) October 27, 2023
The 1st amendment doesn't require U.S. citizens to fund speech they disagree with. https://t.co/8UD9lcYp6F
Students for Justice in Palestine can continue their work. Just not on the taxpayers' dime.
Homeschool JV debate team runner up continues to embarrass himself with his stunning lack of understanding and insight. https://t.co/q85Htl0V9L
— Stevie J. West (@StevieWestAgain) October 27, 2023
It really is stunning.
But if we give it another 72 hours, Vivek will likely change his position on this, too, just like he has on pretty much every other issue.
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