Pence Missed Historic Chance on January 6: Vivek Ramaswamy

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said former vice president Mike Pence missed an “historic opportunity” when he refused to intervene in the counting of the electoral votes in the US Congress.

Vivek Ramaswamy on Sunday was asked if Pence did the right thing by refusing to intervene in the ceremonial counting of electoral votes. Every Republican candidate was asked this question during the Republican debate on Wednesday night but the biotech entrepreneur managed to avoid the question while others were pressed.

Most Republican presidential candidates backed Mike Pence that night, who faced threats from former president Donald Trump’s supporters who were chanting ‘Hang Mike Pence!’.

“I would have done it very differently. I think that there was a historic opportunity that he missed to reunite this country in that window,” Ramaswamy told NBC’s Meet the Press.

“What I would have said is, this is a moment for a true national consensus where there’s two elements of what’s required for a functioning democracy in America. One is secure elections, and the second is a peaceful transfer of power. When those things come into conflict, that’s an opportunity for heroism,” he said.

“Here’s what I would have said, we need single-day voting on Election Day. We need paper ballots, and we need government-issued ID matching the voter file. And if we achieve that, then we have achieved victory, and we should not have any further complaint about election integrity,” he further added.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis wavered initially but later said the former vice president and the Republican presidential candidate who was present in the debate in-person and if manages to win the primaries would then face his former boss.

Pence has been a target of Trump supporters since 2021. The former vice-president had to be escorted to safety on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters rioted in the Capitol Hill premises demanding Pence stop the count.