ABC News host George Stephanopoulos grilled Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy about his pledge to vote for former President Donald Trump even if he is convicted of a felony.
"Your hand shot up pretty fast at the debate when you were asked whether you would vote for Donald Trump in the general election, even if he was a convicted felon," Stephanopoulos noted in a Sunday interview. "Can you just explain why you would vote for a convicted felon for president?"
"If the Constitution permits somebody to run, and that's the person that people of this country want to elect, then that's the way our system works, and I stand by it," Ramaswamy stated.
"Why do you think it's okay for a convicted felon to be president?" the host asked again.
"I do not want to see us become a banana republic where the administrative police state uses police force to eliminate opponents from competition," the candidate insisted. "I will pick who I believe the best next president should be."
Stephanopoulos seemed flummoxed by Ramaswamy's support of Trump.
"And you find his actions abhorrent around January 6th," the host observed. "You said he was wrong to take the classified information. You said you would not do that yourself. You still say you would vote for him for president. That's what I don't get."
But the candidate said he had taken a pledge to vote for the Republican nominee in order to participate in a GOP primary debate.
"George, I said what every Republican nominee said to make it on that debate stage, that we will actually support the Republican nominee from our party," he admitted.
