Vivek Ramaswamy Pushes Back Against Fox News Host When Asked Why He Won’t Criticize Trump

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pushed back Sunday against Fox News host Shannon Bream after she asked him why he won’t criticize former President Donald Trump.

Bream noted Ramaswamy once condemned Trump after the Jan. 6 riot.

“What Trump did last week was wrong,” Ramaswamy tweeted days after the riot. “Downright abhorrent. Plain and simple. I’ve said it before.”

“There’s been a lot of criticism that you’re not taking direct shots at him, that you’re not actually running against him,” said Bream. “You’ve talked about that you think that you’d possibly pardon him should you become president. He’s potentially facing another round of federal charges in connection with January 6.”

Bream then noted Ramaswamy’s aforementioned tweet.

“Why are you and the other candidates now so quick to defend him? Are you worried about the punch-back you would take for him if you’re actually critical of that behavior now?”

“I’ve been consistent all along that I would have made different judgments than Donald Trump made,” Ramaswamy said, adding that “a bad judgment is not the same thing as a crime.” He then slammed the indictment of Trump, saying the U.S. is turning into “a banana republic where the party in power uses police force to arrest its political opponents.”

“The reality of a primary is that you do have to convince people to pick you over these other candidates, so we’ll see. I know that you are feeling confident about making the debate stage, but that’s where some of these dust-ups will have to happen as you guys try to differentiate from each other,” Bream said.

Ramaswamy was previously confronted with a similar question by “Fox News Tonight” host Piers Morgan, who asked when Ramaswamy would “start swinging” at Trump. (RELATED: ‘I’m Asking You’: Vivek Ramaswamy Spars With Fox Host Over Trump Indictment)

“You have been flirting on that fence of being really careful not to annoy the beast. You’ve kept well away from criticizing overtly the gorilla. At what point are you going to take your gloves off and start swinging?” Morgan asked.

“So, you’re right, there are other Republican candidates who may have grievances against other candidates like Trump and are in this race to air those grievances. I’m not. I’m in this race to actually lead this nation to a better place than we are in today.”