Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy brushed off a hit-and-run incident Thursday in Iowa where a protester allegedly smacked into his campaign vehicle and defended his detractors' right to peacefully debate his views.
A blue Honda Civic driven by a female with one passenger inside allegedly hit the rear of Ramaswamy's campaign's SUV while it was parked and then left the scene in the town of Grinnell. Following the incident, Ramaswamy entered a coffee shop, and more protesters appeared and shouted expletives.
One was recorded accusing the candidate of trying to hurt her parent, who is a teacher, with his school choice and teachers union abolition proposals.
Ramaswamy told FOX News no one was injured in the alleged hit-and-run, and that the coffee shop protesters jawing with him appeared to simply be searching for a "cause" in their lives.
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"[T]hese were mostly, actually good, peaceful protesters. People would disagree with me, but I think that peaceful protest and more dialogue is a good thing," Ramaswamy told "Jesse Watters Primetime."
Ramaswamy added he does not want the behavior of the hit-and-run protesters to taint the respect for peaceful, even if occasionally vulgar, political protest. He said his policy has always been to engage earnestly with protesters at events, and that has often resulted in his critics "softening" their guard.
"I do think the people who hit the car should be held accountable," Ramaswamy said. "But more importantly, as I said in that little exchange, I respect free speech, especially for those who disagree with me."
"We have to be better than the other side. We will hold ourselves to that higher standard. That's how we're going to revive this country."
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As for those who called him profane names and used expletives, Ramaswamy said they skew to the younger demographic that's "hungry for a cause."
Ramaswamy said these protesters were critical of him on a number of issues ranging from Ukraine to global warming, with one individual calling him transphobic.
"But what I saw is really a bunch of people who are really lost and hungry for direction," he said. "And at the point when I told them, ‘Look, I congratulate you for expressing your free speech rights’ — when they cut me off in responding, I said, 'Let me know when you're done,' and then I responded to them."
Ramaswamy said Republicans must take a similar tact in engaging with Democrats or with people who disagree with them, rather than vilifying them.
Such diplomacy is the only way to engender better understanding of the right's stance on issues and his own campaign's "pro-American message," he added.
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