Good evening, im jim acosta. Joining me in moments, president potential candidate vivek ramaswamy, whose name showed up in a ron desantis debate memo as the rival to attack on the stage. Hillary spawn that and more. But first, in just a few moments, in the date on the calendar will be april 2026. Thats two years, seven months from now. Thats nearly a year and a half after the 2024 election. And just a year and a half before the 2028 election. And yet, donald trump and his lawyers are suggesting that date for his trial in the federal case on his efforts to overturn the election. Its their counter to jack smiths proposal to start this january. Meantime, the former president , in his first on camera reaction to the george indictment, has a warning to his party. Disgraceful thing. And republicans cant let him get away with it. Republicans have to be tough. The republicans are great in many ways, but they dont fight as hard for this. They have to get a lot tougher. If they, dont theyre not gonna much of a Republican Party. Well they havent been very tough on donald trump. And one of the republicans who is defending trumps vivek ramaswamy. And today, a memo from Ron Desantiss super pac laid out some advice for the Florida Governor ahead of next weeks debate. Among the suggestions, defend donald trump but, quote, take a sledgehammer to ramaswamy. And joining me now is the candidate mentioned in that memo, vivek ramaswamy. Hes giving a speech at the Nixon Library tonight. Welcome, mister ramaswamy. Appreciate you joining us. Its good to see you, jim, how are you . Im good, lets get right to. Theres a pro Desantis Super pac, im sure youve seen this, has posted documents online that showed desantiss upcoming Debate Strategy. That includes not only attacks on President Biden as well as media, but instructions to, quote, hammer ramaswamy. Are you preparing to be hammered . You know, ive been prepared for that for a lot of my life. And im prepared to take that on. The truth is, i am an outsider in this race. And i think that is threatening a lot of the professional politicians, understandably. A guy like me is not supposed to be in this race according to their book. Im approaching my Debate Strategy a little bit differently. I think, many times, if you dont have a message, you look to attack other candidates. Im preferring to stand for my own message, asking the question, what are we running to . And i think were guided by that purpose, the attacks from the other candidates are not gonna stop me. And the latest fox polling shows you been gaining ground, more brown since june than any other candidate. Why are you gaining ground ball candidates like ron desantis are struggling to catch on . I think the reality is i am unconstrained speaking the truth. There are many forces at work in both political parties. In the establishment of the democrat party, and the Republican Party alike. That constrains what candidates can actually say. A lot of that comes from the donor class. In the Republican Party, you have a lot of super pac puppets, im not one of them. Im a patriot who speaks the truth. Im independent. Im putting my own money into this campaign precisely to avoid taking a tin can with a hat in hand. Asking a bunch of donors for permission to run. And i think thats a very different model for many professional politicians in this race. And the good news is, voters across our country, in our base, they can tell the difference between somebody whos actually sharing their own convictions versus somebody whos parroting of Talking Points served up to them 15 minutes, or 15 days before, a debate. I think the reality is also the message of my campaign is resonating. Shut down the administrative state. Declare independence from china. Grow the economy. Revive national pride. Revive our National Identity itself. We, as conservatives, we cant be complacent with criticizing the radical biden agenda. Thats boring, its trite at a certain point in time. We have to stand for a vision of our own. And i think im the only candidate thats actually offering that. I think thats a big part of why weve been successful. Well, youve got a big test coming up with next weeks debate, and eight candidates, including yourself, have met the donor and pulling threshold for that debate. Youve seen the loyalty pledge. Former President Donald Trump has refused to sign the pledge. Are you okay with trump getting Special Treatment . Shouldnt have to play by the rules . I expect trump to be on that debate stage later this fall. And i expect him to play by the same set of rules as everybody else. But im fine with him missing the first couple of debates. Hes been on that debate stage many times over. Heck, he was president for four years. For me, this is an opportunity to introduce myself to the country. Im looking forward to that. Many people dont yet know who i am, or certainly dont know very well who i am. So thats the opportunity im looking for, to. Im expecting trump to show up down the line, but i think its fair game for him to miss the first couple. What if he doesnt that would be refused to sign that pledge . Does he get a pass on the . Well, look, if thats a condition to make the debate stage, then i think hes gonna sign that pledge to make the debate stage. But the reality is, i believe hes waiting based on his Public Comments at least, hes waiting for a smaller field. So i look forward to being on that debate stage with him, but for now, ill focus on the path to next wednesday. Im in eight states in the period heading up until the debate stage, but im looking forward to introducing myself to the people of this country, and hopefully drawing some important policy contrast from the rest of the field. I think this is an important moment for the gop to stop obsessing over there who. There has been so much obsession over donald trump or somebody else. Forget the who for a second. Lets first focus on who we are but what do we stand for and why we stand for it. Thats a discussion we actually havent had in the gop for a very long time. And i think this debate stage is actually going to be good for the evolution of our party. Really defining our agenda, rather than devolving into biographical brawls, even though certain other candidates say desantis and his super pac want to go the direction of the biographical brawl, i prefer going in the direction of substance. Answering what we stand for and why. Thats whats gonna make our party stronger. Well, i think the former president s gonna come up at the debate whether hes there or not. And hes now facing his fourth criminal indictment, this time in georgia on forgery, false statements, election, fraud and racketeering charges. You said that these are political, or politicized, prosecutions. Politicized persecution through prosecution. Lets listen to what his former Attorney General saying about this. People who defend him say, that he genuinely did feel that he was robbed and this was the good fight in the proper fight. Well, even if he did, and im dubious about that, but even if he believes that, that doesnt mean you can use illegal means to rectify it. If you think the bank is unfairly keeping your money, there are many things you can do to get it back. You cant go and rob the bank. Whats your response to the former Attorney General . Look, i think there are deep legal flaws with this case. Im talking to you from the nixon president ial library where im delivering a speech later tonight. Look at nixon versus fitzgerald. This is something that the presses altogether ignored. A president s act while in office are something that he actually enjoys immunity for other than through the impeachment process. So if he believes, even incorrectly, that he was looking after Election Fraud, that could be a defense. I also think there are due process failures. Lets start with the fact that Fulton County actually posted the charges of the indictment even before the grand jury had signed them. Thats a grave prosecutorial bushytailed overexcited mistake. Thats a brutalizes violation in itself, that could be grounds for a motion to dismiss. We also have to look at this prosecution in the context of the fact that there are three others, now for prosecutions in a series of months all convene around a president ial election that sets a god awful president , jim, for this country. We do not want to become a nation where the party in power uses multiple different legal cases at the same time, pushing untested novel legal theories to knock out its opposition in the middle of a president ial election. That is not how we do things in the United States of america. And i say this has somebody who in Many National polls, is pulling second. It would be easier for me if donald trump were eliminated from competition. That is not how i want to win. I stand but there are now four different indictments. Let me jump in, there have been four different indictments. You dont think hes committed any crimes in any of these indictments . I dont think any of the indictments have demonstrated that he krugman is a crime, no. And ive written on the pages of the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, where in a technical legal hat, and you and i can go into that detail if you want. These are clearly politically motivated well, lets just take that one as an example. That indictment made zero mention of the president ial records act. The most recently passed act that relates to a president , including an outgoing president s, access to documents. The fact that this is a 49page indictment, that one was, that was silent on that fact reveals, some acts of polarization. I dont think also the fact that they use the espionage act, one of the most unamerican acts in the u. S. History that has been used to round up anti war activists. That was used to lockup eugene victims. Do you think do you think its alqaeda Have Classified documents lane arauz the ramaswamy household . No its not, but i think theres a difference between a bad judgment and a crime. And the president ial records act expressly gives the president access whose records. But he didnt return them. They asked for the documents back, and i wouldve made very different arguments. I will remain, i am running in the same race that donald trump is. Im not saying that every judgment that he made is the same judgment that i would make. In fact, it wasnt. But that is different than charging it as a crime, which i think it sets an awful president in our country. But in the federal election casey, he tried to overturn the election results. Why not call him out for that as well . I will remind you the supreme courts president in alvarez, at 2012 case, which held that public officials, including politicians, have a First Amendment right to lie, to tell the truth, to even make statements they didnt believe. Let alone, there isnt a shred of evidence that supports we can get into the legal Technical Details all we want. Thats gonna get happen in the courtroom. But as a matter of judgment, as somebody who is running to, and expects, to be the next president of the United States, my top job is to reunite this country, and my way of doing that is going to be to pardon donald trump on day one. And to pardon anybody else who was also the victim of a politically motivated persecution through prosecution. We have to move forward as a country, and i think this sets a dangerous precedent unless we actually pardon. But mr. Ramaswamy, you said you want to wait for all the details, the Technical Details at trial. But youre declaring beforehand that you would pardon him. Why not listen for the facts to come out . And then make that determination . I am saying that based on one assumption. The assumption is that the statements in each of the indictments are the most prosecution favorable statements were going to get. Any legal scholar will tell you thats a fair assumption. In any case, the prosecution always puts up its strongest foot in the indictment itself. We havent even heard from the defense. So yes, if there are gaping, surprises, that come up. Zero evidence to say this that trump was selling these secrets to foreign adversaries for private gain. But if those facts come up, of course i would revisit my judgment. But the fact of the matter is, the prosecution can all obviously make the most aggressive gaze of its indictment as it isnt any other case, i will absolutely pardon trump on day one, january 20th, 2025, when im in office. Would you pardon trumps other alleged coconspirators in both the documents and the elections cases . It depends on how the facts matchup to the law. Your take about the documents case, there are special features of the law that applied to a u. S. President. Literally, the president ial records act treats past u. S. President s differently but why is that youre going to pardon trump on day one, but not make that kind of blanket promise to the alleged coconspirators . Should they get that kind of pardon offer . Im favorably inclined. Im favorably klein to do it, but right now, im a competitor against a trump in this primary, and i want to be very clear on the side of principle. That was against my interest in this race, thats why in the interest of united in this country, its especially important to be clear about that fact. I expect to be making Tens Of Pardons on day one. I think there are countless americans who have been the victims of politically motivated persecutions through prosecution. Peaceful protesters on january 6th. January six defendants, who actually have had constitutional due process violations. Julianna saw is somebody that ive specifically identified as somebody i would absolutely pardon. Douglas mackie, others. I think the only way were going to move forward as a country, there can be no reconciliation without truth. We have to put that past behind us. And my top job is going to be to heal the wounds of this nation to lead us forward. Because, you learn pardoning trump pardoning trumps gonna heal the wounds of the nation . I do. I do think it will be a step towards healy even winds of the nation. I think there are deep wounds in this country that are the consequence of systematic censorship. The weaponization of police force to accomplish Political Goals through the justice system. That is wrong. This is not an easy project ahead for the next president. I am in this race because i do see a lot of candidates on both sides motivated by vengeance and grievance. I am motivated by leading this nation forward, and the way were going to do it is by restoring one standard of the rule of law for all americans. Restore the integrity of the justice system. And leave politics to politics. The people of this country should decide who the next president is. Theyre free to take into account all of the information that has been laid out by leftwing media, rightwing media, et cetera, to make their decisions. Donald trump made good scissions, they should take that into account when voting amount. What about trump making these threats and making these kinds of inflammatory comments about the judge, about the Special Counsel, and so on, in some of these cases . Do you defend that . Should he knock that off . Im not familiar with the specific nature, or which inflammatory common youre referring to or not. Hes deeply aggrieved by resent the same time in the middle of an election. From my vantage point, i would make very different judgments and would have made very different judgments then donald trump. But that is a different point than saying this should be criminalized. Thats where im at, so im not in this two he im in this to defend the nation. But youve heard him say, youve heard how he said, im coming after you if you come after me. You heard that correct . Is that appropriate . If he means hes Gonna File A Motion to dismiss, then he should absolutely file a motion to dismiss, which i think will be very embarrassing for the prosecutor, and frankly very embarrassing for the Law Enforcement apparatus. But you dont think that im gonna be very honest with you, i have not. You have clearly studied every word. Im very honest with you, jim, i have not read the specific tweet or social media post that youre referring to. Im running for president. Im looking at reviving or akana me, im not looking at social media posts. But broadly speaking, my whole point is, theres a difference between a bad judgment and a crime. And the moment that we conflate a lot of crime start with bad judgments. That is a moment we have a threat to limity. Well, thats okay. But you actually have to have committed a crime, to be prosecuted for. And so making a bad judgment as a politician, thats a basis for a voter to make a decision. But thats how we do things in the United States of america. We have to let the people of this country decide who actually runs the country, not a federal Administrative Police state. And i think that sets a dangerous precedent in this country. And that is why ive been so vocal against it. Thats why im clearly committed to donald trump can pardon donald trump if he is committed. But you said later you wait for the facts to come out, if there are some big surprises, you may reconsider that . My assumption is that the worst statement of the facts, the most prosecution favor favorable version of the fact is in the indictment. In 99. 9 of legal cases, thats exactly how it works in the United States, and i said that on day one when i made my commitment that was my assumption. Lets talk about china. You talked about china. You proposed to radio host hugh hewitt that the u. S. Should help taiwan deter a chinese invasion. Until the u. S. Has a chief quote, Semiconductor Independents. Does it support our interest to support a countrys territorial integrity and told him no longer useful to