Vivek Ramaswamy: Is There a Libertarian-Nationalist Alliance?
The former presidential candidate discusses the ideological tensions within the America First movement.
Is the future of the GOP more libertarian, nationalist, or, somehow, both?
Joining us today is Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur, author, and former presidential candidate. He's been making a hard pitch for what he's called a "libertarian-nationalist alliance" for the past several months. He was at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention where he tried to convince libertarians to vote Republican. Reason's Zach Weissmueller also saw Ramaswamy at the Republican National Convention, where he was trying to convince MAGA supporters to be more libertarian. Reason's Stephanie Slade saw him make his case for "national libertarianism" at the National Conservatism Conference. That event was also attended by vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, who has a different vision for the conservative movement. Those dueling visions are the subject of today's episode.
Note: This episode is plagued by technical issues due to a software malfunction. With the exception of an approximately nine-minute section (which is marked in the episode), the full conversation is intact.
Watch the full conversation on Reason's YouTube channel or the Just Asking Questions podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcatcher.
Sources referenced in this conversation:
- Vivek Ramaswamy's full talk at the National Conservatism Conference
- J.D. Vance's full talk at the National Conservatism Conference
- "Vivek Ramaswamy Debuts 'National Libertarianism' at NatCon 4," by Stephanie Slade
- Vivek Ramaswamy: Don't "replace the left-wing nanny state with a right-wing nanny state."
- "What I Learned From Paleoism," by Llewellyn Rockwell
- Producer: John Osterhoudt
