Billionaire and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy spoke at The Heritage Foundation this week at an event hosted by The Fund for American Studies and the Office of Senator Rand Paul.
The event was a part of the Capitol Hill Lecture Series, where TFAS invites various guest speakers to present speeches to interns from a range of internships in Washington. Previous notable speakers at TFAS lectures include reporter and writer Alex Berenson, surgeon Martin Makary, and former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard.
Ramaswamy formerly campaigned as a GOP presidential candidate during the 2024 election. The topic of Ramswamy’s talk for TFAS was “Who Are We?”
TFAS President Roger Ream gave opening remarks at the lecture and introduced Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to welcome Ramaswamy to the stage. Ramaswamy covered a variety of topics in his speech, including his opinions on the importance of having something that “unites” Americans amidst diversity.
“So we’re diverse,” Ramaswamy said. “So what, actually? Our diversity doesn’t really matter. It can be a beautiful thing, make no mistake. But our diversity means nothing unless there is something greater that unites us across that diversity. That’s the creed of this country, it’s on the back of your coins for a reason. ‘E pluribus unum’ means ‘from many one.’”
Ramaswamy also stressed the importance of uniting Americans and having a “common thread of core American ideals”.
“The thing we have going for us is a shared set of civic ideals enshrined in that Declaration of Independence,” he said. “The greatest vision statement ever written for a nation.”
During the Q&A portion of the event, Ramaswamy answered various questions from the audience, including discussing his experiences with religion as well as his thoughts on gender identity.
Ramaswamy added that his Hindu religion posed more of an “obstacle” during his run for President than he originally had thought due to others having differing religious views.
When asked by an attendee in the crowd about restoring bipartisanship in America, Ramaswamy said to “forget the partisan labels.”
“Labels are actually confining, right? Identities are confining if they’re given by somebody else and imposed to yourself. Principles are liberating. And so ask yourself what your actual principles are.” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy told attendees of the lecture to reflect on their “God-given gifts.”
“Ask yourself what are your unique God given gifts to do what is right in this country.” Ramaswamy added.
