Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks outside of the Miami federal courthouse where former President Donald Trump was arraigned on 37 federal charges hours later.Photo:Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Vivek Ramaswamy, a conservative entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate, suggested putting an end toJuneteenth— the annual holiday commemorating the day that slavery officially ended in America, on June 19, 1865.
The remark came as Ramaswamy explained to a crowd of Iowa voters that in order to establish a new national voting holiday, the government may want to nix an existing one.
“Cancel Juneteenth or one of the other useless ones we made up,” Ramaswamy, 37, said to applause,NBC Newsreports.
When NBC News asked Ramaswamy to clarify whether he thought Juneteenth was “useless," he replied, “I basically do.”
And fewer than two months ago, Ramaswamy still seemingly celebrated the holiday, sharing a video onX, then known as Twitter, calling Juneteenth “a celebration of the American Dream itself.”
“Juneteenth is a new holiday so we still have a chance to define what it means to us,” he captioned the video. “It needn’t be about grievance & self-flogging. Let it be a celebration of the American Dream itself.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and founder of Montes Archimedes Acquisition Corp., speaks at CPAC in Dallas.Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Ramaswamy announced his 2024 bid for the presidency during a late-February appearance onTucker Carlson Tonightand in a subsequentWall Street Journaleditorial.
“To put America first, we need to rediscover what America is. That’s why I am running for president,” Ramaswamy wrote in his op-ed. “I am launching not only a political campaign but a cultural movement to create a new American Dream — one that is not only about money but about the unapologetic pursuit of excellence.”
The Ohio native has courted some controversy for his views, and has been outspoken against companies using their platforms for social causes. He has echoed the views of many far-right Republicans that America’s values are in decline, citing critical race theory, self-victimization, and efforts to stop climate change as things that have destroyed the nation’s once-shared identity.
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In his editorial announcing his candidacy, Ramaswamy called for securing the border, eliminating affirmative action “across the American economy,” and declaring economic independence from China, which he calls “the greatest external threat to America.”
Other Republican presidential contenders have also recently sparked controversy for their stances on slavery. Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis, for instance, recentlydefended new education standardsaround teaching slavery in Florida schools that will show enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
source: people.com
