Vivek Ramaswamy: Carlson would be 'good addition' to GOP presidential field

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Monday that Tucker Carlson should get into the Republican primary.

“I think he'd be a good addition to the race,” Ramaswamy said in an interview with POLITICO, when asked whether he thinks the former Fox News host should mount his own presidential campaign. “I think someone should only do this if they feel called to do it, but I think it'd be good for the country if he got in, to be honest with you.”

Ramaswamy, who was scheduled to appear on Carlson’s Monday evening show, said he was still set to be interviewed by another host at the top of the 8 p.m. slot.

He called Carlson “one of the smartest voices in the conservative movement,” and lauded Carlson’s willingness to “defect from party orthodoxy when necessary.”

“There's definitely a thought leadership vacuum in political media, across the political spectrum. And Tucker was one of the great political thinkers and commentators of our time,” Ramaswamy said.

The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur and author of “Woke Inc.” also has a connection to the ouster of Don Lemon on CNN. Lemon, who announced he was terminated by CNN on Monday, got into an on-air skirmish with Ramaswamy last week about race and the role of firearms in Black American history. During the heated exchange, Lemon indicated network staff off-screen were “talking in (his) ear.” The New York Times reported that Lemon’s conduct during the interview left top CNN officials “exasperated.”

“I think my exchange with him played a role in this,” Ramaswamy said on Monday, agreeing with the Times’ report.

“I think it's a gutsy decision, that I applaud,” he said of CNN’s ouster of Lemon. “It's another example of companies gaining a spine.”

Ramaswamy recently met with network CEO Chris Licht, according to a person aware of the meeting.