Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is clarifying comments he made during Wednesday's presidential debate, saying the 38-year-old entrepreneur didn't intend to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—who is Jewish—a Nazi.
Asked about Ukraine's pleas for funding from the U.S. in its war against Russia, Ramaswamy said he's "actually enjoying watching the Ukraine hawks quietly, delicately tiptoe back from their position as this thing has unwound into a disaster."
"Ukraine is not a paragon of democracy," Ramaswamy added. "This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. It has consolidated all media into one state TV media arm, that's not democratic. It has threatened not to hold elections this year unless the U.S. forks over more money, that is not democratic. It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks, the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelenskyy."
Ramawamy's remark prompted swift backlash, with some calling his characterization of Zelenskyy "disgraceful" and "antisemitic."
Now, Ramaswamy's campaign is seeking to clarify his remarks.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the campaign, told the New York Times that Ramaswamy meant to refer to Zelenskyy joining a standing ovation for a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran when he visited Canada in September. However, the veteran in question, Yaroslav Hunka, had served in a division under Nazi control during World War II.
McLaughlin said she understood why his comment was misunderstood, saying, "He was talking quickly and kind of oscillated in his words."
Vox reporter Andrew Prokop wrote on X Wednesday that he believed "Vivek did not mean to call Zelensky a Nazi but rather botched this line he's been using for a while."
Prokop included a screenshot of an Economic Times article from October that quoted a Fox News interview where he made a nearly identical comment.
"This is a nation that has banned 11 opposition parties," Ramaswamy said. "It is a nation that has centralized all media under a single state media entity, whose president, just last week, praised a member with Nazi affiliations within his own ranks and threatened the United States, insisting on more funding for their elections."
Ramaswamy, who surged to third place in Republican primary polls in August, has since faltered—dropping three points since late August and being usurped by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, according to data on RealClearPolitics.
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