'Didn’t even invite him': Mehdi Hasan explains how he ruffled Vivek Ramaswamy’s 'easy ride'

10 September 2023

During the Sunday, September 10 episode of MSNBC's Yasmin Vossoughian Reports, Vossoughian spoke withThe Mehdi Hasan Show host Mehdi Hasan about his recent interview with biotech entrepreneur and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

The Daily Beast reports, "During a marathon 25-minute sitdown with Ramaswamy that aired on NBC's streaming service Peacock, Hasan held the 38-year-old multi-millionaire's feet to the fire throughout, rarely giving the 'anti-woke' culture warrior a chance to deflect and dodge when confronted over his past comments and behavior."

Vossoughian had Hasan on Sunday's segment to discuss how the interview with Ramaswamy came about and what the MSNBC host expected to get out of it.

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"First off, I should point out, I didn't even invite him on the show," Hasan said. "He suggested himself back in July. He tweeted at me saying, 'Have me on your show to debate on this stuff, MSNBC.' So we said, 'All right!' After the debate, when it looked like he was actually a serious contender, we said, 'All right. come on then.' So he actually invited himself — it's part of his strategy of throwing himself into numerous entities — it's how he's made a name for himself. Because was really a nobody six months ago. But he's done this intense media exposure campaign. And my goal was to try and hold him to account for some of the nonsense that he said in those interviews and for some of the lies he's told about his past. What he's done so well up until this point, including on the debate stage in Milwaukee, is to just basically talk over people, speak super fast, and super confidently. Thing is, Yasmin — so do I. So I was ready for that. And we did our homework, my team and I. We came to him with his quotes, with his book, with his tweets, with his tax returns. And I don't think he was quite ready for that because he had an easy ride so far."

Vossoughian went on to say, "That was a moment, Mehdi, when you went at him with his tax returns. If anybody has not seen that part of mehdi's interview, you should certainly watch it online because it is amazing to watch. When you were talking to him, I think two of the biggest things, it seems, you are trying to hold him on was, first, his qualifications, and secondly his trustworthiness. Was it there or was it not? And I think going into it, you probably understood it was likely not gonna be in there. All that being said, Mehdi, right, your audience is not the type of people that are going to be voting for someone like Vivek Ramaswamy. So even by having him on your show...it's not those folks are now gonna say, 'Well, Mehdi kind of called him out.' Right?"

Hasan replied, "Well, first of all I would say there's a value to truth in and of itself. I really don't care if I'm saying truth in an empty room. Sometimes it really doesn't matter the audience, you just have to reinforce the truth. But I will say one thing, Yasmin, the DeSantis people are sharing the hell out of this clip. He's got rivals on the right who are actually very happy to see him held to account. I've seen a bunch of conservatives, people like Meghan McCain, who's no fan of mine, saying 'Why didn't conservative media ask Vivek Ramaswamy these questions over the past six months? Why did he get a pass on the right for so long?' So actually interestingly enough, given the dynamics of the GOP presidential race, where he's snapping at DeSantis' heels, they're actually appreciating the fact that someone's asked some of these questions."

Vossoughian emphasized, "That's a really incredible point. And it's interesting because of the leak that came out of the DeSantis camp just a couple weeks ago, saying, 'We're gonna be focusing more' —ahead of the debate of course — 'We're gonna be focusing more on Vivek on that debate stage' than they would, obviously, the front runner is the former President Donald trump. What do you most, Mehdi, worry about looking ahead to this election, specifically, the primary race, and then ultimately, the general?"

Hasan said, "The most worrying thing is something I've been saying for a long time. I'm sure you have too — the authoritarianism that comes out of the GOP. and Vivek Ramaswamy, despite being the son of immigrants, having a brown skin, is as authoritarian as the rest of them, if not more. On Friday, he announced that he wants to deport U.S. citizen kids of undocumented immigrants. He doesn't accept the birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. So, it's a real problem when you've got a bunch of people who are not called Donald Trump, but are as authoritarian as he is, if not more so in some cases."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Mehdi Hasan discusses his recent Vivek Ramaswamy interview (9.10.2023)www.youtube.com

The Daily Beast's full report is available at this link (subscription required).

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