Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Sunday he disagreed with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of slates of fake electors in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
But Mr. Ramaswamy, a defender of Mr. Trump who has vowed to pardon him if convicted, emphasized there’s a “difference between bad judgment and a crime.”
The unauthorized slates of electors are part of two of the criminal cases against Mr. Trump related to trying to overturn the election.
“If I were the U.S. president, I would have never let it get to that place,” Mr. Ramaswamy said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I would not have nominated phony slates of electors.”
He went on to chastise the criminal prosecutions against Mr. Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate, as setting a “dangerous precedent.”
“I do draw a distinction between bad behavior and illegal behavior,” Mr. Ramaswamy said. “And once we start conflating those two things, I think we’re on a long, downward slide as a country.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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