Tipsheet

WaPo Reporter Left Thorougly Embarrassed After Exchange With Vivek Ramaswamy

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  January 05, 2024 12:15 PM

Vivek Ramaswamy has frequently called out the mainstream media, with outlets such as The Washington Post making it all too easy for him to do so. At a recent campaign event, a reporter from the outlet, Meryl Kornfield, asked Ramaswamy "do you condemn white supremacy and white nationalism," leading to a noteworthy response from the candidate as the reporter continued to behave in a predictable fashion. 

After getting it out of Kornfield which outlet she was with, to laughter from those at the event, Ramaswamy responded that "of course I condemn any form of vicious racial discrimination in this country," also adding that "but I think that the presumption of your question is fundamentally based on a falsehood that that really is the form of racial discrimination we see in this country today."

When it comes to other forms, Ramaswamy pointed to how "institutionalized racism is institutionalized racial discrimination that we see, that doesn't come from somehow discriminating against people on some tenant of white supremacy," but rather "is based on affirmative action."

"Was there a point in our history, a point in our prior national history where there have been vicious forms of anti-black or anti-brown discrimination throughout this country after the Civil War and otherwise? Yes. But you're looking in the rearview mirror and using that to pose a question today that is so far removed from what the reality is in America today. This myth of white supremacy," Ramaswamy continued, also bringing up how the press believed the hoax hate crime that Jussie Smollett falsely claimed he was a victim of. 

"And so stop picking on this farce," Ramaswamy added, "of some figment that exists at some infinitesly small fringe of the American public today to open our eyes to the actual real threats that we face." He took it a step further, also noting that "I think that it's frankly questions and framings like that that cause the American public to lose all trust in the mainstream media, I'm sorry to say for good reason."

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As Ramaswamy looked to move on, Kornfield jumped in to follow up with her claim "you didn't say that you condemn white supremacy," leading to an even stronger reaction from the candidate. 

"I'm not going to recite some catechism for you. I'm against vicious racial discrimination in this country," Ramaswamy repeated. "So, I'm not pledging allegiance to your new religion of modern wokeism," he told Kornfield. "I'm not going to bend the knee to your religion, I'm sorry. I'm not asking you to bend the knee to mine, and I'm not going to bend the knee to yours. But do I condemn vicious discrimination? Yes, I do. Am I going to play your silly game of 'gotcha?' No, I'm not, and frankly this is why people have lost trust," he said about the mainstream media, repeating points made earlier in the exchange.

Making a prediction, Ramaswamy told Kornfield that "I know you're going to go print the headline tomorrow, I already know this," suggesting it would be along the lines of 'Vivek Ramswamy Refuses to Condemn White Supremacy.'" 

"The reality is I condemn vicious racial discrimination in this country, but the kind of vicious and systematic racial discrimination we see today is discrimination on the basis of race in a very different direction," he continued. Ramaswamy offered that "the best way to end discrimination on the basis of race" is to "stop discriminating on the basis of race," adding "do that and we're going to move this country forward."

He had even stronger words against the mainstream media from there, insisting "you people have been responsible for dividing this country to a breaking point, creating a projection of national division." Ramaswamy then directed yet another message to the mainstream media, of how "you with your catcheism that you try to get to politicians, to whatever fake headline you're going to print on the basis of this conversation tomorrow, that's what's dividing this country to a breaking point."

"Shame on you. Look people in the eye and tell them what you actually failed to tell them for the last 5 years. Own the accountability for your own failures as the media. That's how we rebuild trust in this country. And until then, I don't have a lot of patience to play the games," Ramaswamy told Kornfield before moving on.

Sure enough, the headline of Kornfield's article for Friday morning read that "Ramaswamy increasingly embraces fringe theories, far-right claims in Iowa." It claimed that Ramaswamy "refused to directly condemn white supremacy" and overall read like something of a hit piece against Ramaswamy:

“Was there a point in our prior national history where there have been vicious forms of anti-Black or anti-Brown discrimination in this country, after the Civil War and otherwise? Yes. But you’re looking in the rearview mirror,” said Ramaswamy, while making false incendiary claims that white supremacy was a fabricated threat as he stood in front of a banner that said “TRUTH.”

An entrepreneur and first-time candidate who built some momentum last year but has since faded sharply in polls of the Republican race, Ramaswamy has increasingly embraced extreme ideas, far-right individuals and causes, and debunked conspiracy theories. Barnstorming this state in the final stretch before the Iowa caucuses, some Republican strategists see his approach as a desperate ploy to garner attention as a provocateur. It’s one that is also dangerous, some experts warned, as data shows white extremist violence and threats have risen in recent years.

Kornfield also criticized the Republican Party overall. "[Ramaswamy's] comments on race, which have focused on casting liberals as racists and portraying White people as victims of racism, mark the latest instance of a Republican candidate using inflammatory rhetoric that has drawn condemnations from civil rights leaders and scholars," she claimed at one point.

The exchange between Ramaswamy and Kornfield was further discussed in a recent edition of "LARRY." Our sister site of Twitchy also highlighted the exchange, including how it's continued to go poorly for Kornfield, such as in posts she's made about the exchange.

In a post from Wednesday, Kornfield in part wrote that Ramaswamy said he would not "'bend the knee' and condemn white supremacy."

That post has since been hit with context from Community Notes, pointing to a clip shared from Ramaswamy's X account. "Full video will inform whether WaPo journalist properly characterized their exchange," the note read. 

A pinned post to Ramaswamy's X account that includes part of the exchange between notes that "This is the stupidest question I've gotten yet from the media," adding "And that says a lot."