Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday appeared on a podcast hosted by an anti-Semitic YouTuber who has accused Jews of having "dual loyalty" and claimed that Zionists "worship the nation of Israel over America & are willing to infringe on their own country's values to serve that agenda."
The Republican presidential candidate went on a YouTube show hosted by social media influencer Albert Faleski, who goes by the name "An0maly" and often criticizes the Republican Party's support for Israel.
Faleski, who is also a critic of pharmaceutical companies, pressed Ramaswamy about his biotech background, his work in China, and his support for the COVID-19 vaccine. The two during the 40-minute interview did not discuss Faleski's views on Jews or Israel.
Ramaswamy's appearance on the show comes as the candidate has faced scrutiny for his shifting position on U.S. aid to Israel. While Ramaswamy said in June that he would support cutting off military funding to Israel, he walked back this position after facing criticism at the first Republican debate in August. He now says he would only end the aid at Israel's request.
Faleski was recently named "Antisemite of the Week" by StopAntisemitism.com. He regularly accuses the Republican Party on Twitter of selling out to "Zionists" and "Jewish donors."
"Zionists have the Republican Party by the nuts & they pass anti-American pass speech laws for their donors/Israel because that's who controls them," he wrote last November.
In a 2020 post, Faleski wrote, "What do Epstein, Weinstein & 85% of the writers, producers & media execs making the most subversive programming have in common? I'll give you a hint, Trump & Republicans pass speech orders trying to stop you from saying the truth about it."
Faleski also objects to the U.S. government's definition of anti-Semitism.
"Have you ever read the State Department's 'Defining Anti-Semitism' page?" he wrote last year. "They say it's hate speech to say Jews killed Jesus, have more loyalty to Israel than other countries & saying they control large sectors of society."
Faleski wrote in January that the "Republican Party & the Rep. Media Establishment are Zionist."
"That means they will sacrifice America, Americans, their values, free speech & everything they claim to stand for to blacklist people who know they back hate speech laws & anti-boycott laws for Jewish donors," he added.
A spokeswoman for the Ramaswamy campaign told the Washington Free Beacon that the candidate wasn't aware of Faleski's comments on Israel and Jews prior to the interview.
"As you likely saw, it was not a friendly interview," she said.
Ramaswamy thanked Faleski for welcoming him onto the show and said he was happy to face tough questions from the YouTuber.
"It's good to be on, man. Nice to meet you," said Ramaswamy, adding that his "view is, you know, you shouldn't run for president and hide."
Faleski pressed Ramaswamy over the candidate's conflicting statements on whether there was election fraud in 2020 and whether then-vice president Mike Pence did the right thing on Jan. 6, 2021. Ramaswamy said he thinks there was some voting fraud, but hasn't seen evidence that it was enough to swing the election. He also said he would have handled the situation on Jan. 6 differently than Pence and would have used the opportunity to push for voting law reforms.