GOP hopeful Ramaswamy dubbed the ‘anti-woke’ candidate

NEWS AND OPINION:

Longtime news correspondent and ABC News commentator John Stossel has penned a column for HotAir.com with a telling title: “President Ramaswamy?”

The newsman spent some time with Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential hopeful and entrepreneur.

“I am in this race to speak truth and to revive our missing national identity,” Mr. Ramaswamy told the newsman, calling himself the “anti-woke” candidate and noting that political insiders were not fond of him.

“It’s an ideological cartel. Defect from that orthodoxy, they will punish the defector. I refuse to stand by silently,” he said.

Mr. Stossel wrote that he is “glad Ramaswamy refuses to be silent. America needs candidates who speak freely.”

STEPPING UP FOR ABBOTT

A spirited group is looking after one of its own. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is leading 24 Republican governors who have banded together to support Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to secure the southern U.S. border.

“The federal government’s response handling the expiration of Title 42 has represented a complete failure of the Biden administration. While the federal government has abdicated its duties, Republican governors stand ready to protect the U.S.-Mexico border and keep families safe,” the governors said in a joint statement.

“All states have suffered from the effects of deadly illegal drugs coming across the border, and every state is a border state due to the devastating influx of drugs in our communities. Republican governors are leading the way to address the border crisis by increasing fentanyl sentencing and increasing support for law enforcement interdiction of drugs, among other measures,” the statement said.

“Greg Abbott has exemplified leadership at a critical time, leading the way with Operation Lone Star, and deploying the Texas Tactical Border Force to prevent illegal crossings and keep the border secure. We support the efforts to secure the border led by Governor Abbott,” the statement concluded.

Signers also include Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

AND THE NUMBERS

How dire is the situation on the southern border?

“According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were 211,401 border encounters with immigrants in April. Including ‘gotaways,’ there have now been over 6.6 million illegal border crossings since President Biden took office,” reports Tommy Pigott, rapid response director of the Republican National Committee, in a statement to Inside the Beltway.

“For context, that number is larger than the individual populations of 33 states and the District of Columbia. It is also larger than the population of Los Angeles and more than double the population of Chicago. This is the worst border crisis in U.S. history, and Mr. Biden is to blame,” Mr. Pigott said.

ONE FOR THE CIA

Here’s some social-media news of note.

“On Monday, for the first time, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) established a presence on Telegram to reach individuals in countries who have no access to other social media or independent media. CIA’s inaugural post includes a video in Russian to encourage courageous Russians to share information safely with the Agency,” the CIA said in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“This video follows social media posts in 2022 that provided instructions in Russian on how individuals could securely contact CIA on the Dark Web,” the agency said.

“Our global mission demands that individuals can reach us safely and securely from anywhere. Telegram is an additional tool to communicate with people, no matter where they are,” said Tammy Kupperman Thorp, the CIA’s director of public affairs.

CIA established a presence on the Onion Router (Tor) in 2019 to enable people to contact the agency securely.

FOR THE LEXICON

“The Infant Act.”

No, this is not a theatrical performance. It is an acronym for the Improving Newborn Formula Access for a Nutritious Tomorrow Act, which was introduced in the U.S. House on Thursday by Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Turner of Ohio.

The bill, a response to the ongoing nationwide shortage of baby formula, would allow more formula manufacturers to enter the market and improve the formula supply chain, among other things.

“As the newest mom in Congress, I have been advocating for parents and families in Upstate NY and across America struggling to find baby formula since the beginning of this crisis. It’s time to pass this legislation to ensure that we put ourselves in a position where a baby formula shortage crisis never happens again,” Ms. Stefanik said in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

For sale: The historic Decatur Lustron, a “space-age ranch” style house built in 1949 in Decatur, Georgia, from enameled steel panels supplied by a fighter plane factory. Two bedrooms, one bath, open-floor plan, clean lines, muted pastel color scheme, vintage design elements and accent pieces. Unique exterior features, plantings and California-inspired landscaping, backyard fire pit and workshop. “Curated” vintage and retro furnishings available for a separate price; the house is deemed “a midcentury-modern design lover’s dream.” Priced at $519,000 through DecaturLustron.com.

POLL DU JOUR

• 61% of “potential” Republican voters say they would vote for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary election.

• 15% would vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

• 6% would vote for former Vice President Mike Pence.

• 4% would vote for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; 4% would vote for entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

• 2% would vote for former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

• 1% would vote for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; 1% would vote for Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina; 1% would vote for former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; 1% would vote for “someone else.”

• 0% would vote for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

SOURCE: A Morning Consult poll of 3,571 ‘potential” Republican primary voters conducted May 12-14.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.