Vivek Ramaswamy visits New Haven for keynote address at Buckley Institute
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy visited New Haven on Friday evening to deliver a keynote address at the conservative Buckley Institute.
Ramaswamy, 39, is a biotech entrepreneur and graduate of Yale Law School. He established himself in the conservative media world as a crusader against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion measures and became known to the broader public as candidate for the Republican nomination for president — presenting himself as the next generation of Trump-era conservatism.
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He dropped out of the race after a fourth place finish in the Iowa caucuses and became a key surrogate for the Trump campaign.
Ramaswamy’s keynote address focused on the direction of the conservative movement now that Republicans have secured control of the White House, the U.S. Senate and possibly the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ramaswamy described a “foundational fork in the road” for the conservative movement between more libertarian-minded leaders like himself and a more protectionist strain of Republicans who believe in a more assertive use of federal powers.
A central question for conservatives, Ramaswamy said, is “do we believe in replacing the left-wing nanny state with a right-wing nanny state, or do we believe in dismantling the nanny state?” In his telling, he falls on the side of those who want to dismantle the “nanny state” altogether.
News 8 asked Ramaswamy what Connecticut residents could expect from the next Trump administration. Connecticut voters chose Vice President Kamala Harris over President-elect Trump by a margin of nearly 15 percentage points.
“They can expect a sealed border, economic growth, a revival of national pride and staying out of ‘world war three’ in the process,” Ramaswamy said. “I hope that’s something that unites this country. Connecticut is traditionally described as a blue state. Fine. I think that Democrats want those things, too.”
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