On defense for saying he’d end aid to Israel, reject military strikes on Iran, Vivek Ramaswamy just spoke to me for 50 minutes

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – When the American presidential campaign began earlier this year, few people had ever heard of him.

Now, he’s rising steadily in the polls, having risen from 0.0% to 7.6% in the Real Clear Politics average of national polls at the beginning of the week.

At the same time, he’s creating enormous controversy over his positions regarding Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and abortion, just to name a few.

So, exactly who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

What does he believe?

And why does this devout Hindu believe he can persuade Evangelicals to vote for him?

On Monday, I had the opportunity to interview him for 50 minutes.

To the best of my knowledge, it’s the longest interview that he has done for TV, radio, podcasting, or print to specifically discuss his views on Israel, Iran, the Abraham Accords and the broader Middle East.

He told me it’s also the first interview he’s done on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) since he launched his long-shot presidential campaign.

I hope you’ll join me for Part 1 of the interview which will air tonight – Thursday – on THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN at 9 p.m. EST.

It will re-air at 9:30 p.m. EST on Saturday evening.

Or you can watch it on the TBN app.

My conversation with the fastest-rising candidate in the GOP field comes in the wake of Amb. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Gov. Chris Christie hitting Ramaswamy hard and relentlessly on his foreign and domestic policy views – including his approach toward Israel – during the first GOP presidential debate, including his approach towards Israel.

Indeed, Ramaswamy is under increasing attack from numerous directions not only for his views, but for the growing perception that he’s changing his positions week by week, sometimes depending on what crowd he’s speaking to.

As you’ll see tonight, I was friendly towards Ramaswamy.

After all, I like his family immigrant success story and a number of his views and policy positions, which I’ll explain tonight.

But I also pressed him on several issues critically important to Evangelical Christians where he either isn’t being clear or opening himself up to charges that he’s slippery.

Among the issues we discuss: 

• Did Ramaswamy really say that he wants to end all U.S. military aid to Israel by 2028 – and why?

• Why did he tell an Israeli reporter last week that he refuses to use the U.S. military to stop Iran from getting The Bomb if all else fails?

• How serious does he think the Iran threat is?

• Are there really no circumstances by which he would consider the use of American military force to neutralize the threat from the apocalyptic Islamist regime in Tehran?

• Why has he repeatedly said that he wants to develop a “comprehensive strategy” to “disengage” the U.S. from the Middle East?

• Does he not understand why the combination of such statements – as well as the lack of clarity and the perception of shifting positions – is giving rise to a growing number of Americans and Israelis believing that he is not sufficiently serious about dealing with the Iran threat and with standing steadfastly by Israel?

 I also pressed Ramaswamy to talk about his position on abortion.

• Is he really pro-life?

• Does he believe that abortion is the murder of an unborn baby?

• If so, why then does he oppose all federal legislation on the issue, including Senator Lindsey Graham’s ban on all abortions after Week 15, the point when most doctors believe that unborn babies can feel pain?

In addition to pressing Ramaswamy on these issues, you’ll also see clips of interviews that he has given in the past so you can compare the answers he gives me with the answers that he has given others. 

It was a fascinating conversation, and one that you won’t see on any other TV network.

Hope you’ll join us tonight at 9 p.m. EST for THE ROSENBERG REPORT.

And rest assured that we’ll go into even more depth in Part 2 of our conversation, which will air next Thursday night, Lord willing.

You can learn more about our show – and sign up for our free weekly emails – at www.RosenbergReport.TV.