Fox News host Shannon Bream grilled Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for his refusal to criticize former President Donald Trump.
"Let's talk about President Trump, because there's been a lot of criticism that you're not taking direct shots at him, that you're not actually running against him," Bream said on Fox News Sunday. "You've talked about that you think that you possibly pardon him should you become president. He's potentially facing another round of federal charges in connection with Jan. 6."
The Fox News host reminded the candidate he had been critical of Trump following the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
"So why are you and the other candidates now so quick to defend him?" she pressed. "Are you worried about the punchback you would take for him if you're actually critical of that behavior now?"
Ramaswamy insisted he had "been consistent all along."
"I would have made different judgments than Donald Trump made," he said. "But a bad judgment is not the same thing as a crime."
"The reality of a primary is that you do have to convince people to pick you over these other candidates," Bream noted. "So we'll see."
