Ramaswamy Says Pence Missed ‘Historic Opportunity’ on Jan. 6

Entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy waves as he arrives to take part in the first Republican Presidential primary debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on Aug. 23, 2023. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said former Vice President Mike Pence missed a “historic opportunity” over his decision in the certification of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I would have done it very differently. I think that there was a historic opportunity that he missed to reunite this country in that window,” Mr. Ramaswamy said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, when asked if Mr. Pence had done the right thing on Jan. 6.

During the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23, Mr. Ramaswamy was the only candidate who was not asked by the moderators if the former president had done the right thing on Jan. 6. The remaining candidates all took the view that Mr. Pence was in the right that day by certifying the 2020 election results.

Had he been asked during the debate, Mr. Ramaswamy said he would have spoken about a chance to be heroic.

“What I would have said is, ‘This is a moment for a true national consensus,’ where there’s two elements of what’s required for a functioning democracy in America. One is secure elections, and the second is a peaceful transfer of power,” he added. “When those things come into conflict, that’s an opportunity for heroism.”

Republican presidential candidates (L-R), former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with Vivek Ramaswamy during the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Aug. 23, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

‘Missed Opportunity’

Unlike Mr. Pence, Mr. Ramaswamy said he would have pushed congressional “reforms.”

“Here’s what I would have said, ‘We need single-day voting on Election Day. We need paper ballots, and we need government-issued ID matching the voter file,’” he explained. “And if we achieve that, then we have achieved victory, and we should not have any further complaint about election integrity. I would have driven it through the Senate.”

Once these reforms were adopted, Mr. Ramaswamy said he would have certified the election results.

“In my capacity as president of the Senate, I would have led through that level of reform, then, on that condition, certified the election results, served it up to the president, President Trump then, to sign that into law, and on January 7th, declared the re-election campaign pursuant to a free and fair election,” he said. “I think that was a missed opportunity.”

In a statement to NBC, Pence’s campaign press secretary, David James, called Mr. Ramaswamy’s Jan. 6 statement “shocking and concerning in its lack of understanding of how our system of government works.”

“In one breathe [sic] he joins Nancy Pelosi and radical progressives in wanting to nationalize our election system, and in another he claims that the Vice President has unilateral authority to decide when to certify elections,” Mr. James wrote.

Former President Donald Trump, who did not take part in the presidential debate, told Tucker Carlon on Aug. 23 that Mr. Pence “got very bad advice” about electoral college certification in 2021.

“In my opinion, Mike Pence had the absolute right to send the votes back to the legislatures,” President Trump said. The former president added that the change to the Electoral Count Act of 2022 after the 2020 elections proved that he “was right.”

Republican presidential candidates (L-R), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak during a break in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on Aug. 23, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Debate

Mr. Ramaswamy, who put up a strong showing during the debate, raised nearly half a million in the first hours after the event.

According to his campaign’s internal poll conducted by Cygnal after the debate, Mr. Ramaswamy saw his support climb up to 15 percent among likely Republican primary voters, extending his lead over his closest competitor by more than 3 percent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was third with 11.7 percent of support, followed by Mr. Pence with 6.6 percent.

President Trump topped the GOP field with 42.3 percent, the poll found, which surveyed 1,500 likely Republican primary voters from Aug. 24 to Aug. 26.

Mr. Ramaswamy’s favorability also got a boost following the debate, topping at 64.2 percent.

In another post-debate poll (pdf) commissioned by Leger for the New York Post, Mr. Ramaswamy was considered by 23 percent of self-identified Republican voters as the best performer of the debate, narrowly defeating Mr. DeSantis who picked up 21 percent. 11 percent said Mr. Pence won the debate, followed by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with 7 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,800 people from Aug. 23 to Aug. 24.

However, President Trump remained the preferred GOP presidential nominee with 61 percent of the support from self-identified Republican voters, followed by Mr. DeSantis with 9 percent and Mr. Ramaswamy and Mr. Pence each with 5 percent.