Well, let's bring in somebody who, if he wins the job he wants, would have to make that type of decision. Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican 2024 presidential candidate. Vivek, great to have you on the program. How would you handle this as you should use developments? Good to see you. So, look, I think this is one more piece of evidence that Russia is likely a paper tiger. The idea that Russia has the capabilities to go for Poland or other parts of Western Europe looks increasingly farcical. I think we need to keep our eye on the prize for the United States, which is deterring Chinese aggression. That's actually the top threat that we face from a foreign policy perspective. So what I've said is I would end the Russia-Ukraine war on terms that pulled Vladimir Putin further away from Xi Jinping. As we see the ground game for Vladimir Putin is flailing as we speak. But the number one thing that Russia still has that's ahead of both China and the US is the largest nuclear stockpile in the world and also hypersonic missile capabilities ahead of both the US and China. That's a valuable asset for Xi Jinping to have in his back pocket. I think that we can end this war in Ukraine with a deal that requires Putin to end his military partnership with China. And I think that's how we actually achieve American objectives here. Yeah, I mean, it's interesting this war did exactly what it was predictable, right? It brought China and Russia closer together. And it just seems to me like a dereliction of duty to not have thought a few steps ahead on that. Did they, why did they put us in this position, Vivek, our government, our State Department? Well, I think it's the absence of purpose in the US military. I think the managerial class is at best. There's a best case scenario, a charitable interpretation looking in the rear view mirror and trying to repeat the tactics of the late 20th century, failing to recognize that the USSR does not exist today. The Communist Chinese Party, the Chinese Communist Party, is actually the threat to the United States today that the USSR might have posed in our last Cold War. So we need to stop driving our foreign policy with our eyes in the rear view mirror and wake up to the actual threats that we face today. The reality is we are dependent on our enemy, Communist China, for our modern way of life, for the shoes on our feet, to the phones in our pockets, in a way that was never true of the USSR even in the last Cold War. That's the reality we need to wake up to. And I think the focus on Russia at the expense of declaring independence from China, at the expense of pulling Russia away from China is a mistake. It's a mistake that I'll correct if I'm elected. It's the core hallmark of my foreign policy vision. And what I'll add is that this is the number one way we actually deter China from going after Taiwan while avoiding war, because Xi Jinping's number one bet, his calculus, is that the US won't want to go to war with two different allied nuclear superpowers at the same time. But if Russia is no longer in China's camp, Xi Jinping will have to think twice before going after Taiwan. That's how we deter it while avoiding war. And I think I'm the only candidate in either party that's brought this level of specificity to how we would address both concerns at once. So, Vague, there was a famous moment in 2016 as a presidential debate when all the Republican candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would support one another on that debate stage, if one of the other candidates won the nomination. Donald Trump famously did not raise his hand. I think he was the only candidate at that time who would not raise his hand, saying, well, I don't know who the candidate would be. I'd have to look into who that would be and what policies they support. It's still an issue today, as I believe the first debate for Republican primary in August has a similar requirement. It has a requirement that that Republicans sign a pledge. And I'm sure you know about this, Vague, sign a pledge to support whoever the would be nominee might be. Ron DeSantis, by the way, said he has not said if he would back Donald Trump as the GOP nominee. So, my question for you is, would you back Donald Trump? Should he win the nomination? And while we're at it, would you back Ron DeSantis if he won the nomination? I will be on that debate stage in August. We met the criteria three months plus in advance. The final criteria is making that pledge. And what I'll say is, if the other candidates in this race make that pledge, I will stand by and be willing to, because that's a condition for open debate in our own party. To know that we can have at it, that we can really disagree, push one another from a policy perspective, drawing policy contrasts. That's something I've been unafraid to do in this race. And I think we'll do a better job of that as a party and as a movement, if we're able to take the gloves off on the one hand, and on the other hand, to say that we're still committed to defeating Joe Biden. So that's where I am on it. So to be clear though, if not everyone vows to make that pledge, then you will not either. It's an all or nothing proposition for you, Vague. It is. And that's only fair. I think that we have to, as a movement, say we're going to get in there, have open debate on that debate stage with a common commitment. That's what the R&C is trying to lead the way on. I'm ready to play ball, but I require the other candidates to play ball as well. Well, it's interesting just to stay in that debate aspect for a moment, Vague, because Donald Trump has said, I don't want to participate. How do you react to that? If the overwhelming front runner is not on that stage. That's his choice for the early debate. My point is, I'm going to do this year what Donald Trump did in 2015. He was the outsider then. And many ways, I see myself as more similar to Donald Trump in 2015 than Trump today, maybe, to Trump in 2015. And so I think that you get to be an outsider once. I'm the outsider in this race. I will be unsparing about advancing our agenda on that debate stage. I think the competition breeds strength. So I embrace the competition in this race. I think it makes our movement and our country stronger. But I will not be holding back on that debate stage. And I will require the other candidates to be able to level up and actually talk about the issues rather than the superficial talking points that you otherwise get if you don't participate in a debate in a campaign. So Vague, the Quad City Times ran a political cartoon that was really offensive. They've since apologized about it. And the cartoon, as you can see right there, implies that Republicans are racist and don't actually like you. Talk to me about what you thought when you first saw that cartoon. Well, when I first saw that cartoon, I just thought it was off the mark. Part of the reason it wasn't funny, the funniest jokes are funny because there's truth in it. There isn't an eye out of truth in this cartoon, which is why it wasn't funny. I traveled this country, I meet with grassroots conservative audiences across Iowa, including Eastern Iowa, across the country. Not once have I experienced the kind of racism that that cartoon embodies. If anywhere I see it, it's actually coming from the left. Okay. So that's why I made the cartoon not funny. So I called that out. After that, the newspaper really apologized. They came out with this public apology. I just published a letter to the editor though in that newspaper this morning to say, I accept the apology. We're done and let's actually happily move on. I don't want to see people lose their jobs over this. I don't want to see it go extreme in the other direction. I was actually a one time aspiring stand-up comedian in New York City myself. So I can empathize with a bad joke. Let's call the bad joke what it was and move on. That's the way I deal with it. Well, now you've inspired me to try to go find those tapes from Vivek Ramas Palm, stand-up comedy days. They got to be out there somewhere. I love to see it. I got to bet about ten shows. They weren't there nothing to write home about. So Vivek, it's always great to talk to you. Thank you for always addressing all these issues head on. Yeah. Good to see you. Always such a fresh perspective like it. Thanks Vivek. Thank you. Okay.