(RepublicanDaily.org) – GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy seems to have gotten significant momentum following the recent Fox News Republican primary debate where he often tussled with fellow candidates on a number of issues.
It seems Ramaswamy has found his stride in provocative, combative, and arguably offensive remarks – the latest of which have targeted Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley and author Ibram Kendi, calling them “the modern grand wizards of the modern KKK.”
Both Pressley and Kendi are black – Pressley even having the distinction of being the first black woman from Massachusetts elected to Congress as a representative of the state, and has since established herself as a prominent member of the more progressive part of the Democratic party.
Responding the statement, Pressley’s team said that Ramaswamy “crossed a line” with his “bad-faith attacks”, while Pressley herself called the comments “deeply offensive” and “dangerous.” The Massachusetts representative said, however, that Ramaswamy isn’t really “occupying any real estate” in her mind as she continues to work towards “charting a path of true restorative justice and racial justice forward.”
Ramaswamy made the remarks at a town hall in Iowa, when a voter asked if he could be blamed for white supremacy or be called a white supremacist. The biotech entrepreneur proceeded to cite quotes from Pressley and Kendi, and said that their comments constitute a “modern KKK”. He was referring to a 2019 remark from Pressley that said, “We don’t want any more” black and brown faces that don’t want to be black or brown voices. And for Kendi, an excerpt of his book “How To Be Anti-Racist” where the author said, “The remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”
Ramaswamy has stood by his remarks, saying that it was his intent to spark “open and honest” conversation about the topic. He said that he agrees that the KKK is a “toxic stain” on America’s history, but called comments like those from Pressley and Kendi to be “in the same spirt” as sentiments espoused by the white supremacist group. He added that ideals like those of Pressley and Kendi teaches people to see each other on the “basis of our genetic attributes” which would have made “the old wizards of the KKK proud.”
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