Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been barn-storming Iowa in a series on campaign stops, often upwards of eight per day or more. On Thursday, had a town hall crammed into the upper room of Barley’s Bar and Grill in downtown Council Bluffs. I was there along with a stand room only crowd of around 50-60 people, including members of the media.
I got to ask the first question during the Q&A, which was on unity in the country. “It seems like our Unity as a country is now less based in spirituality and more in politics,” I told Ramaswamy, “And I’m wondering how can we unite as a country when one half of the country is so politically averse to the other.”
“That’s a deep question, actually,” Ramaswamy said. “I don’t want our Unity to be resting on our politics, actually. it’s got to be a deeper Foundation than that. … I think that in some ways we’ve become a nation of sheep, especially my generation. We’re a nation of sheep, and a nation of sheep is what breeds the government of wolves. So it’s not going to be the President alone that saves this country. It’s going to take pastors, it’s going to take parents, coaches, teachers, every one of us.”
Another guest was Cole, a ten-year-old aspiring author who asked Vivek for his advice on writing books. Vivek said his best advice was to carry a notebook at all times, something the young writer was already doing (and had used to write “Vivek = President” at the start of the event).
Another guest asked “how do you talk to a liberal?”
“If somebody comes up as a protestor,” Vivek said, “I’ll give them the microphone … This woman, she came in, she was screaming. She was not lucid, but she almost wanted to get kicked out. And as security was escorting her out, I told them, ‘Don’t let her leave. Bring her back. She’s going to say what she has to say, and we’re going to hear her. And she’s going to hear what I have to say in response.’ And I think that’s we’ve lost in this country.”
Ramaswamy is currently polling in fourth place in Iowa behind Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley. The Iowa Caucuses are on January 15, 2024.
