GOP debate: Vivek Ramaswamy calls climate change a 'hoax', aid to Ukraine 'disastrous'

Vivek Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire former biotech executive, called the climate change a 'hoax' as GOP candidates on Thursday (August 24) argued over global warming and other climate-related issues during the first Republican debate.

Ramaswamy said, "I'm the only candidate on stage who isn't bought and paid for, so I can say this. Climate change is a hoax… The reality is more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change."

Climate change is evident in the form of long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, mainly caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels.

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Amid urgent calls for global support to tackle the issues, the crowd booed Ramaswamy's remarks. He was slammed by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who compared the entrepreneur to ChatGPT and former President Obama.

The 38-year-old Ramaswamy was born in Ohio to immigrant parents from southern India. He was raised in the Hindu faith by his parents but went to a Catholic high school. He earned a biology degree at Harvard University before moving on to Yale Law School.

He has been criticised also as he has become a fierce conservative. In his 2021 bestseller 'Woke, Inc.', Ramaswamy decriesdecisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns and lambasts"wokeism" as an insidious influence on hard work, capitalism, religious faith and patriotism.

Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina Gov. called for China and India to cut emissions. She said, "First of all, we do care about clean air, clean water. We want to see that taken care of, but there is a right way to do it. The right way is first of all, yes, is climate change real? Yes, it is. But if you want to go and really change the environment, we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions."

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Ramaswamy on the Ukraine war

Ramaswamy also said that if he was elected president, he would not support an increase in aid to Ukraine and called US support of Ukraine "disastrous". He added that the resources that are going to Kyiv should instead be used domestically.

He said: "This is disastrous we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else's border when we should use those same military resources to prevent the invasion across our southern border here in the United States of America."

His comments were slammed by Haley, who said she would support more funding for the war in Ukraine. "He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia. He wants to let China eat Taiwan. He wants to go and stop funding Israel. You don't do that to friends. What you do instead is you have the backs of your friends," she said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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