Ukraine Not a Democracy, Zelenskyy a ‘Comedian in Cargo Pants’: Ramaswamy

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks in an interview on Nov. 3, 2023. CNN/Screenshot via NTD

GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy dismissed the idea of Ukraine being a “paragon of democracy” while slamming its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “comedian in cargo pants.”

“Level with the American people here. Ukraine is not a paragon of democracy,” Mr. Ramaswamy said during the third GOP debate in Miami on Nov. 8. “This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. It has consolidated all media into one state TV media arm. That’s not democratic. It has threatened not to hold elections this year unless the U.S. forks over more money. That is not democratic. It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks, the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelenskyy … That is not democratic.”

During the debate, Mr. Ramaswamy brought to attention some of the key information about the Ukraine–Russia conflict.

“More facts for you that you won’t hear from the mainstream in either party or the mainstream media—the regions of Ukraine that are occupied by Russia right now in the Donbas, Luhansk, Donetsk, these are Russian-speaking regions that have not even been part of Ukraine since 2014,” he said.

Mr. Ramaswamy urged people to avoid buying into narratives that frame the Russia–Ukraine conflict “as some kind of battle between good versus evil.” The GOP presidential candidate said he was “absolutely unpersuaded” by President Zelenskyy’s new plea for more funding.

“And I’m actually enjoying watching the Ukraine hawks quietly, delicately tiptoe back from their position as this thing has unwound into a disaster. The first half of this race, I was the only person standing for it. Now, they’re actually quietly coming around to being more cautious, as they should.”

Undemocratic Neighbors

Over the past couple of years, Ukraine has taken several steps that validate Mr. Ramaswamy’s claim of the country not being a democracy.

In March last year, Ukraine suspended 11 political parties over their alleged ties with Russia. Even though most of the parties had little political presence, one of the suspended parties—the Opposition Platform for Life—had secured second place in the elections.

At the time of suspension, the Opposition Platform for Life held 44 out of the 450 seats in the Ukrainian parliament.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (L), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (C), and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) (R) walk to meet with the Speaker of the House and other lawmakers in Congress in Washington on Sept. 21, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

In late December, President Zelenskyy signed into law legislation that empowered the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council to have broad authority over the country’s media and journalists.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine had slammed the move. “The draft law does not envisage the regulation of the media sphere, but, in fact, the establishment of relations of subordination, when the media become under the control of the authorities,” it said in a statement at the time.

President Zelenskyy has dismissed calls for elections. In a Nov. 6 speech, he said that “now, in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections into society in a lighthearted and playful way … I believe that now is not the right time for elections.”

Russia is also a strongly anti-democratic country. While on paper, the voters in Russia have the right to choose their party in the elections, the reality on the ground is much different. Voters can only choose a party that is already vetted by the Kremlin and perceived as not being a threat to the establishment.

Meanwhile, Russia has one of the most stringent controls over media. According to Freedom House’s “Freedom On The Net 2022” report, Russia was classified “not free” when it came to media freedoms.

“After Russian authorities launched a brutal military invasion of Ukraine, the government moved to block prominent social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and issued massive fines to other platforms that refused to remove content and localize user data. Beyond social media platforms, the government restricted access to over 5,000 websites after the invasion was launched,” it said.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese leader Xi Jinping gather with other leaders for a group photo session at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2023. Suo Takekuma/AFP via Getty Images

“The government expanded its foreign agents law and mandated that media outlets refer to the war as a ‘special military operation,’ developments that prompted many prominent independent news outlets to close rather than risk penalties for continued reporting.”

Moscow is also known to suppress the religious rights of its citizens. A 2021 report by the Russian human rights group SOVA-Center revealed that Christian denominations like Jehovah’s Witness and protestant groups faced persecution in the country.

A February report by the Institute for Religious Freedom stated, “as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least 494 religious buildings, theological institutions, and sacred places were wholly destroyed, damaged, or looted by the Russian military.”

Russia is also a major supporter of China, the biggest violator of human rights in the world. During his visit to China last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Chinese broadcaster CCTV that “President Xi Jinping calls me his friend, and I call him my friend, too,”

Ramaswamy Versus Haley

Mr. Ramaswamy also highlighted the issue of Ukraine suppressing Christians. “That is actually what’s happening. They’re using the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They have banned them. The Ukrainian Parliament just did this last week, supported by our dollars.”

He asked Nikki Haley to “have some accountability” and answer whether she wants to “use U.S. taxpayer money to fund the banning of Christians.”

Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

After the current conflict broke out, Kyiv accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of maintaining ties with the Russian Orthodox Church which justified the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Days after the invasion, UOC’s head, Patriarch Kirill, called Ukrainians defending the country “forces of evil.”

In March, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights said that it was concerned about Ukraine’s “state actions against the UOC.”

When Ms. Haley was asked during the GOP debate about the issue of more funding for Ukraine, she didn’t answer the issue straight away.

Instead, Ms. Haley replied: “I am telling you, Putin and President Xi are salivating at the thought that someone like that (Mr. Ramaswamy) could become President. They would love to think about it.”

Ms. Haley called Ukraine a “freedom-loving, pro-American country that is fighting for its survival and its democracy.” She highlighted the importance of supporting Ukraine in the context of Taiwan and Israel.

“There is a reason the Taiwanese want us to support the Ukrainians. It’s because they know that China is coming after them next. There is a reason Ukrainians want us to support Israelis—because they know that if Iran wins, Russia wins,” she said.

Mr. Ramaswamy’s stance on Ukraine at the GOP debate triggered responses online.

“Give credit where credit is due. Vivek Ramaswamy makes some good points on Ukraine. Glad to see some of this awareness in the Republican Party,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a Nov. 9 post on X.

“Vivek Ramaswamy is bringing the fire on Ukraine at the #GOPDebate,” Ben Johnson, a senior editor at The Washington Stand, said in an X post.