Entrepreneur and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy was praised by conservatives on social media Wednesday for bringing up the issue of fatherlessness in the United States during the first GOP primary debate.
“The word privilege gets used a lot,” Ramaswamy said on the Milwaukee, Wisconsin debate stage. “Well, you know what? I did have the ultimate privilege of two parents in the house with a focus on educational achievement and I want every kid to enjoy that.”
“So part of the problem is we also have a federal government that pays single women more not to have a man in the house than to have a man in the house contributing to an epidemic of fatherlessness and I think that goes hand in glove with the education crisis as well, because we have to remember, education starts with the family, and the nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind.”
Ramswamy was praised by conservatives on social media for bringing up the issue of the disintegrating nuclear family and how it relates to education and poverty.
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Entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy gestures as he arrives to take part in the first Republican Presidential primary debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 23, 2023. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) (Kamil Krzaczynski)
“Good for Vivek for bringing up fatherlessness as a major issue,” GOP operative Matt Mackowiak tweeted.
“I’m happy that Vivek recognizes there is an ‘epidemic of fatherlessness,’” fellow GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder tweeted. “It’s about time. Let’s hope the other candidates, the Democrats and the media start addressing this number social problem in America.”
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Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and co-founder of Strive Asset Management, speaks at the Republican Party Of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Friday, July 28, 2023. (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ramaswamy brought the issue up again in his closing statement.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence, 2024 Republican presidential candidate, from left, Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, and Vivek Ramaswamy (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty)
“The nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to man,” Ramaswamy said. “Capitalism lifts us up from poverty. There are three branches of government, not four. And the U.S. Constitution is the strongest guarantor of freedom in human history.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Ramaswamy spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “25% of kids in America don’t have a dad in the house. True ‘privilege’ is not based on the color of your skin.”
“It’s being raised in a stable family with two parents. The federal government cannot on its own fix the fatherlessness crisis, but here’s what it *can* do: get the progressive boot off the neck of the family. Stop using taxpayer $$ to pay people to do the exact opposite of what’s likely to be best for them.”
