I'm vivek ramaswamy, and this is an open discussion about some of the biggest issues facing americans. We were supposed to have a red wave in 2022, but that never came. They blamed trump. They blamed abortion. But the real reason is that we got lazy. We railed against the democrats, but without offering an alternative vision of our own. And i'm worried we're going to be in for a rude surprise this november unless we fix that starting right now. Think about it. Criticizing joe biden for his cognitive deficits over the last two years ended up backfiring. His cognitive deficits weren't a bug for the people who controlled him. They were a feature, and eventually they used it as their basis to swap him out. He was never really the functioning president of the united states anyway. He was a puppet for the people who controlled him. And you know what? the same thing goes for kamala harris today. She's just another cog in the system. We're not up against a candidate here. We're up against a machine. We're not going to win this by obsessing over the other side's shenanigans. We're going to win this by answering who we are and what we actually stand for. What does it mean to be a republican in the year 2024? what does it mean to be an american in the year 2024? it means we believe in the ideals of 1776. It means we believe in merit that you get ahead in this country, not in the color of your skin, but on the content of your character and your contributions. It means we believe in free speech and open debate, that you get to speak your mind freely as long as i get to in return. It means we believe in the rule of law. And i say this as the kid of legal immigrants to this country. That means your first act of entering this country cannot break the law. It means we believe in selfgovernance, that the people who we elect to run the government ought to be the ones who actually run the government, not unelected bureaucrats in the deep state. It means we believe in the individual, family, nation and god that beats race, gender, sexuality and climate. If we have the courage to actually stand for it. But here's the dirty little secret that you won't hear from the media. It's not just republicans who share those ideals. Most americans actually do. I traveled this country as a presidential candidate last year, and if i learned one thing, it's that we're not really as divide as the media would have you believe. It turns out that 80% of us in this country share the same values in common. But here's the thing. They're afraid to talk about it in the open. You want to know the best measure of the health of american democracy? it's this. It's not the number of green pieces of paper in your bank account. It isn't even the number of ballots we cast every november. The best measure of the health of our democracy is the percentage of people who feel free to say what they actually think in public. And right now, we're doing as poorly as i can remember. In my lifetime. There's a new culture of fear in our country that spread like an epidemic across america. Fear of losing your job. Fear of your kids getting a bad grade in school. Fear of becoming an outcast in your own community for saying the wrong thing. And that culture of fear has completely replaced our culture of free speech in america. The only way we're going to fix it is by all of us. Not just me, not just donald trump, but all of us starting to speak the truth in the open again. Say in public what you will say in private at the dinner table. That's what my new book, truths the future of america first is all about. And that's exactly what we're about to do here. I invited my personal friends with a diverse range of views to join us for dinner. You're not going to agree with everything they say. And you know what? neither do i. Some of them are old friends from places like harvard and yale. Not exactly bastions of conservatism in america. We brought together a russian immigrant, a jewish rabbi, a former aclu leaning democrat, and a former biden administration official. At the same dinner table. To have the conversations that we're not having in america today. So let's speak without fear and see what happens. That's how we're going to save our country. I am looking forward to this dinner. This is a dinner amongst old friends and new. I wanted to kick the discussion off with a reflection on american national identity. This is on my mind coming out of the republican convention. But i think it's worth talking about because we do hear this. Our diversity is our strength. Certainly the motto that i grew up in as well. But so much so that we actually forgot the common core of things that actually do unite us. And it seems like it's a particularly challenging basis to have a national identity built around civic ideals as it exists in the united states today. But bound together by a commitment to ideals like free speech. A commitment to ideals like the government shouldn't be able to tell you what to do or how to live your life. Merit the pursuit of excellence, the rule of law and or are we wired by human nature to need something more primal? is it harder for everybody, or is it harder just for people who were born here and have been here for a long time? because it seems like immigrant communities still deeply believe in the american ideal, or are still really excited about it. I think that plays into the assimilation of america, the second or third generation american that has assimilated into americanism, that has lost their roots, rooted identity, that goes back hundreds of years or thousands of years, like some of the people at this table who will carry traditions here. As a jew, my deepest roots and my soul are my jewish roots. So there's nothing that doesn't start first with a very strong nuclear base of who we are, where we are. And the i think is exactly what you're saying, the first and second generations, coming from these strong ethnic or racial or religious homes are strong. The rhetoric and the and the arguments and the, the political, the political discourse that has just been terrible, you know, moving away from core issues and talking about things, just fighting and arguing. The constant badgering of the other side is hurting america. I think america's unique sense of national identity. Why am i a proud sixth generation american freedom? the first amendment, freedom of press, maybe less government. Free markets, capitalism. It's almost an identity of a nonnative entity, which gives us the american dream, which is that we can live together with people that are very different, like us, with equal rights. And we shouldn't apologize for that in america. I've been hearing this idea of america as an idea or america as a proposition. Nation kind of gained a lot of traction lately. Make a resurgence. And, you know, i guess what that means, essentially, is that it's a nation that is founded not on like a core ethnicity or a core culture, but a common creed. That or an ethos that everyone can or anyone can opt into if they're willing and able. And that, you know, sounds like a nice idea to me. It's in theory, it's very flattering for most of us, if not all of us at the table. My answer to that is, i don't know if the america is an idea. Camp is necessarily right, but if they are, america is an idea that's founded on a very specific set or system of values, norms, customs, the is basically white anglosaxon, protestant in nature. And i'm talking about things like individualism, freedom, tolerance, like all merit. Fair play is a big one that's big for me. That gets lost a lot. Honor as a personal commitment versus as a kind of social mechanism, which you see in a lot of like eastern and middle eastern countries and that sort of thing. What about that honor? that's fascinating to me. I mean, i think like, i'll click on that. I think the anglo concept of honor is motivated from within, from within the individual. It dovetails with the idea of like individualism and freedom. And i think in most other cultures, honor is something that's much more socially determined. That depends on, saving face or being a member of your community. It's much more collectivist in nature. Isn't the whole idea of america is that we can accommodate both concepts. Yeah. I mean, we we can come over here and we can have honor. We can have community within our particular ethnic cultures, but we also have this larger thing that we all agree to abide by, and we're proud of that. Yeah, it's it's sort of what, like what john murray cuddihy called the civil religion, right, that he talks about in the american civil war. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it should go without saying that most of the immigrants who come to this country do so because they're trying to take advantage of they want to enjoy these values, norms and customs, whether or not they end up at them. Yes. And i think it should also, go without saying that when you profoundly alter the nation's demography through immigration, both legal and illegal, those ideals will there there will be a point of critical mass where those ideals do come under threat one way or another. And i think how we reconcile that is really the question for the future. And the fact is like this diversity, which is, you know, a strength. I think people miss the point of that statement because when they say diversity is strength, i think the strength does lie specifically in our difference, not in our commonality very often. But you have to, you know, accommodate everybody. And i think there's going to be, a lot of growing pains awaiting us. More of this discussion after the break. America is at a crisis point. For too long, the politicians, the media and special interests have put themselves before the country. They've divided us against ourselves. Now we're faced with the choice. We can allow america to decline, or we can take our country back. America stands for truth. So pull up a seat, because every revolution starts with an honest conversation. Truth with vivek ramaswamy only on fox nation i promise not to talk too much. vicks vapostick provides soothing nonmedicated vicks vapors. Easy to apply for the whole family. Vicks vapostick. And try new vaposhower max for steamy vicks vapors. Introducing the second chance offer from betmgm. What'd he say? if you bet on a player to score the first touchdown and instead he scores the second? boom! you get your money back in cash. Straight cash? second chance, you heard? what if my guy fumbles, and some other guy scores first? second chance. What if you need a second chance to land on the field? this offer only applies to touchdowns. You alright? i hurt my spleen! get the second chance offer from betmgm. The sportsbook born in vegas. Introducing a revolution in pain relief. Absorbine junior pro, the strongest numbing pain relief available. It's the only solution with two max strength anesthetics for fast penetrating relief absorbine junior pro. Nothing numbs pain more. Welcome back to truths and open conversation. Let's get right back into it. I actually do believe the united states of america is still founded on a set of ideals. But if those ideals don't exist, then the question is, what is the country? and so, you know, we each come at this from different perspectives. I mean, if you actually worked in the biden administration, which i think is interesting. I mean, you don't we don't usually i run for president as a republican. You work for president biden. Yeah. So i have worked on the, on the democratic side. And i think that there are a lot of people who really care about about this country on both sides. I do think that, too often we're siloed into teams, though, and we're not able to get together like we're doing now and have a dinner table, you know, conversation with people who may not have the same perspectives as we do. Yeah. I think, that there's been a dramatic shift. I mean, i grew up kind of a traditional aclu, left leaning democrat. But within that group, i didn't know anybody who wasn't passionate about the first amendment, for instance. Right. I mean, that was a kind of a defining characteristic of, a democrat in the 80s, 90s and early 2000. But the national idea, the sort of set of ideals that are laid out in the constitution, which democrats once felt really good about, they were proud of them. Those are secondary to larger political considerations for people in the trump era. What do you think is one of our main learnings as we think about this question of who are we? national identity. What does that what does that say about where we are today? i think there are people who, after donald trump got elected for for them, suddenly the issue of government interference in the speech landscape once upon a time, we had confidence in the public and and audiences to make the right decisions. If there are wellinformed now, people believe that the voting public can't be left to their own devices, that they have to be manipulated and managed. Therefore, we can tolerate a certain amount of censorship. That's the only thing i can conclude. I have no, thesis other than, trump derangement syndrome. But you're right that it feels like a lot of people suddenly flipped overnight and became like, partizans or loyalists and abandoned their commitments to certain american ideals like free speech and civil liberties. When you talk about nationalism, a nation is a sum of its parts and to be to to talk about nationalism, i think we have to talk about individualism. And i and i mean it in the not proverbial, but in the general sense of what is our identity as individuals. You know, nations are composed of people that get together, to unite. Young people today have lost somewhat a sense of identity. And i know in, in the world of identity politics, that means one thing. And i think today that the debate resolved would be america has morally decayed. So a nation is as strong as the individuals are strong, and and the individuals bring their convictions, their morality, their sense of identity, their religion, their nuclear family, their principles to the table. And so nationalism needs to go back to a nation of of people. We the people. Right? i pledge allegiance to the flag, the flag which which unites us as a country and a muslim, a russian, a sixth generation proudly american, jew, irish, an irish, hindu, in the second generation indian american. This is the beauty of america and getting together as individuals, not shunning or closet or putting away our differences, but expressing those differences. And that's why america is the great is the great american. Up next, what is the identity of america today? is it changing more of this discussion after the break? america is at a crisis point. For too long, the politicians, the media and special interests have put themselves before the country. They've divided us against ourselves. Now we're faced with the choice. We can allow america to decline or we can take our country back. America stands for truth. So pull up a seat, because every revolution starts with an honest conversation. Truth with vivek ramaswamy only on fox nation i promise not to talk too much. 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