Vivek Ramaswamy argues Obama’s race remarks are part of ‘toxic’ ideology

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy argued that former President Obama’s remarks on the positions of many minority candidates in the Republican Party is part of a “toxic” ideology among liberals. 

Obama said in a podcast interview with former White House senior adviser David Axelrod released on Thursday that a tendency exists among Republicans who are Black or another racial minority to “validate America and say everything’s great and we can all make it.” 

The former president was asked about South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s (R) messaging on race in the presidential election, and Obama criticized the optimistic tone, saying candidates must have a plan for “how do we address crippling generational poverty that is a consequence of hundreds of years of racism in this society.” 

Ramaswamy weighed in on the remarks in an interview on Fox News, slamming what he said is a liberal narrative that people of color are not allowed to deny that systemic racism exists. 

“There is a toxic philosophy on the left,” Ramaswamy said. “I [described] this in my book ‘Woke Inc.’ several years ago, which says that the color of your skin predicts what you’re allowed to say about this country, that you can’t say systemic racism doesn’t exist if you have Black or brown skin.” 

He said “predicting” someone’s views based on their skin color is racist, and he rejects that. The 2024 candidate said he is “disappointed” in Obama and believes his comments set a poor example for the country. 

“But you better believe that’s why it’s important for folks like me or Tim Scott or Nikki Haley, for that matter, to speak our minds openly,” Ramaswamy said. “And from my heart, I commit to doing that throughout the rest of this campaign trail. I think it’s going to be unifying for the country.” 

Scott is one of the only Black candidates in the race — aside from conservative radio host Larry Elder — and the only Black Republican senator. Haley and Ramaswamy are both Indian American. 

Ramaswamy has railed against an emphasis on diversity during his presidential campaign, arguing that the focus should be on bringing people together to unify them as Americans instead of separate groups. 

He said in the interview that the country’s strength does not come from its diversity but from what unites people across the diversity. 

Scott hit back at Obama’s remarks in a statement on Thursday, arguing that Democrats are trying to deny the progress that the country has made to stay in power. 

“The truth of MY life disproves the lies of the radical Left. We live in a country where little Black and Brown boys and girls can be President of the United States,” Scott said. “The truth is — we’ve had one and the good news is — we will have another.”