Ramaswamy to Newsmax: Colo. Decision a 'Bastardization' of Constitution

The Colorado Supreme Court's decision to keep former President Donald Trump off the state's primary ballot is a "bastardization of our Constitution," GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has vowed to keep his own name off the state's ballot unless Trump's is restored, told Newsmax Saturday.

"If the other side is going to engage in election interference in the GOP primary, it's in our hands to protect ourselves against it," Ramaswamy said on Newsmax's "America Right Now." "So what I said, is if I remove my name from that Colorado ballot, and every other Republican does the same thing, then Colorado does not have an impact on the actual primary. That's how we protect ourselves against election interference."

Ramaswamy has called on other Republican candidates to remove their names from the Colorado ballot, and said that he's "very disappointed" that the other remaining Republican candidates, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Chris Christie have been "either radio silence or sidestepping this question."

He added that while he respects Trump, his move to stay off Colorado's ballot isn't just about the former president, but is about protecting the Constitution.

"Sure it might be an advantage to each of us to collect those delegates in Colorado that President Trump isn't, but in the long run, what's the point of going through that exercise if we don't actually have free and fair elections in this country?" said Ramaswamy. "We're skating on thin ice as a country right now, and I think right now we all have to stand for the country. That's what's at stake and that's how I make my decisions."

Ramaswamy also said he believes that President Joe Biden should have spoken out about the Colorado decision.

"Like some other Democrats, he could have stepped up and said, 'Hey, let him run and be on the ballot. Let's beat him through the front door,'" he said. "The reality is the very people who now pontificate about the threats to our democracy, you hear that term a lot on the left right now. They are the real threat to democracy."

Democracy means allowing Americans to choose who leads the country, "not a backroom deal of Democrat judges in Colorado," Ramaswamy added. "That's not how we do things in the United States of America, and I'm in this race, hopefully, to take our America First agenda to the next level to make sure that people who we elect to run the government are the ones who actually run the government and they keep their oath to the citizens of this nation."

But, Ramaswamy added, he does not think "they're going to let Trump get anywhere near the finish line here, anywhere near the White House," explaining later that he meant "the establishment" with the word they.

"I think this is a system that has decided to keep this man away at all costs," he said. "I think it's shameful. I will fight against that at every step, even though I'm running in this race to be president myself. I'm standing for the Constitution and what's right."

And while the America First movement has been associated with Trump, it is "bigger than Trump" and belongs to the people of the United States, said Ramaswamy.

"This has to outlive all of us," he said. "This is the next century of our country's evolution. It's reviving George Washington's 1776 vision to put America first."

Ramaswamy has also said in recent weeks that he does not think the establishment will allow Biden's candidacy to proceed.

"It's far more devious," he said Saturday. "I used to think they were going to sideline Biden for Gavin Newsom or Michelle Obama. It's far more insidious than that. And I think that people have to see this isn't R versus D. It is deeper than that. The permanent pro-war establishment who's gonna keep that war machine humming, who's going to do the bidding of the people who put you up so that the people who are making money off the military-industrial complex and worse, can continue to do what they've always done."

He added that it will "become more evident in the next few months where this is going and all the more clear."

"This is why I need to remain in this race to make sure that our America first movement doesn't get squashed by the forces that are trying to sideline Trump," said Ramaswamy. "We can't hand this over to the old neocon vision, the Dick Cheney vision of the Republican Party that frankly has become the modern Democratic Party as well."

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