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Vivek Ramaswamy, Ro Khanna in heated political debate
Ramaswamy and Khanna discussed a range of topics including economy, foreign affairs, climate change, and the future of America, each segment lasting for 10 minutes.
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The highly anticipated debate between Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna took place at St. Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester. Moderated by Boston Globe reporter James Pindell, the initially cordial exchange soon transformed into a heated conversation, revealing their fundamental differences on various issues.
Ramaswamy and Khanna discussed a range of topics including the economy, foreign affairs, climate change, and the future of America, each segment lasting for 10 minutes. “My view is that Israel has an absolute right to its own national self-defense. That's the answer,” Ramaswamy said when asked about Israel's war with Hamas in the wake of the extremist group's terror attack on Israel on 7 October.
Khanna, who began by mentioning his early opposition to the Iraq War when discussing foreign affairs, had a differing viewpoint, emphasizing the importance of "American leadership" rather than "American isolationism." "One point though .... I agree with you. We should not be in a ground war. We should not get involved in the war," he said of Israel and Hamas.
On economic matters, Ramaswamy advocated boosting domestic production of valuable goods, including expanding energy production via drilling, nuclear power, fracking, and more. He also pointed to government regulations and bureaucracy as the primary hindrances to these efforts. “It is, I think, regrettable to be carrying the water of Joe Biden when in fact ... everyday Americans know they're suffering at the hands of policies that came from this administration,” Ramaswamy said.
Khanna disagreed, emphasizing the significance of government intervention in promoting economic growth. “Vivek and I completely disagree with what I call 'economic patriotism': the role of the government to rebuild industry which has been hollowed out,” he said.
On climate change, Ramaswamy argued that "climate change policies" could potentially cause more harm than the environmental changes themselves, a perspective that contrasts with the concerns raised by many scientists and environmental activists. Khanna expressed his disbelief and emphasized the importance of a habitable planet for human flourishing. He pointed to flooding incidents in the state earlier this year as examples of climate-related challenges.
Towards the end of the debate, both Ramaswamy and Khanna reached one point of agreement; on the country’s future. "When I was growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, my parents could not have met a staff member or a member of Congress. Today, there are five South Asians in the United States Congress. This is a country of progress," Khanna said.
In conclusion Ramaswamy said, “We might disagree on corporate tax rates or whatever those details are. But we agree on the basic rules of the road to meritocracy, free speech, the pursuit of excellence, self-governance over aristocracy, I think most of us in this country do," he said. "We still share the ideals of the American Revolution in common, but now it's up to us to move just beyond celebrating diversity and differences to celebrate those ideals that unite us.”
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