GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said if he fails to clinch the Republican Party’s nomination for the highest office in the land, he isn’t going to settle for the second-in-command. 

Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur from Ohio, made the comments on Saturday during an interview on Fox News’s “Cavuto Live” with host Neil Cavuto.

“Donald Trump and I share something in common and that is that neither of us does well in a number 2 position,” Ramaswamy said when asked if he’d be willing to accept a VP offer. “I’m built to actually lead the organizations that I’ve built, and I think that, when I’m looking at the federal government, my greatest contribution, Neil – and one of my goals being to reunite this country – I’m going to be in the best position to get that done if I’m doing that from the top job.”

“I’m not interested in a different position in the government,” he added. “Frankly, I’d drive change through the private sector sooner than becoming a number 2 or a number 3 in the federal government.” 

2024 presidential candidate @VivekGRamaswamy (R) tells Neil he would turn down an offer to run as Vice President: "I've been very clear. I'm not interested in a different position in the government." pic.twitter.com/p42Ayl5fxA

— Neil Cavuto (@TeamCavuto) August 19, 2023

When Cavuto mentioned the vice presidency being a “heartbeat away” from the presidency and explicitly asked Ramaswamy if he would turn the position down if offered, the presidential candidate said he would. 

Ramaswamy went on to explain his decision, saying that his campaign isn’t about a “quest for personal power” but about “reviving our missing national identity” and reaching younger generations with his message – something he says he can only do from the top job. 

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Former President Trump currently leads the Republican field for president, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Ramaswamy, according to the RealClear Politics average of polls. However, in recent weeks, Ramaswamy – who was largely politically unknown prior to his campaign – appears to be rising in some polls. 

“We’re doing well, Neil, because I am speaking the truth in an unapologetic way,” Ramaswamy told Cavuto regarding his rise. “I began at 0.0% in the polls in March, I’m now in second place in many of the polls coming out over the weekend,” he added, saying that instead of focusing on what the Republican Party is “running from,” he plans on focusing on what the party is “running to.”

Other Republican candidates, including DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, have made similar comments regarding the vice presidency. When asked whether he would be Trump’s running mate if it came down to it, DeSantis told the “Wisconsin Right Now” radio show in July, “I don’t think so, I’m not a No. 2 guy.” 

Haley, in an interview with POLITICO, said, “I think everybody that says, ‘She’s doing this to be vice president,’ needs to understand I don’t run for second.”

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis fired a shot late this week at Republicans politicians who blindly support former President Donald Trump, suggesting that conservative leaders must not be “listless vessels” who hang on Trump’s every word and instead should be guided by “principle” and focused on serving the American people.

After the Trump campaign and some of Trump’s supporters in Congress accused the governor of disparaging all those who support Trump, Team DeSantis fired back.

The back and forth began when DeSantis sat down with the Florida Standard‘s editor-in-chief Will Witt, who asked the governor about accusations from the Trump camp that he is a “RINO.”

“I think that we have a strand in our party that views supporting Trump as whether you are a RINO or not, and so you could be the most conservative person since sliced bread, unless you’re kissing his rear end, they will somehow call you a RINO,” DeSantis said. “So it’s been totally detached from principle, in what you actually believe, and results. And it’s more about, you know, just what faction you happen to do.”

“So there will be people who are huge Trump supporters, like in Congress, who have incredibly liberal left-wing records that is really just atrocious, and yet they’re viewed by some of these folks as like, really, really good,” he continued. “Then you have other people, you know, like a Congressman Chip Roy, who has endorsed me, Congressman Thomas Massie. These guys have records of principle fighting the swamp that are second to none. And yet, they will be attacked by some of these people and called RINOs.”

“So it’s just been totally detached from any type of substance. And ultimately, a movement can’t be about the personality of one individual. The movement has got to be about what are you trying to achieve on behalf of the American people. And that’s got to be based in principle,” he concluded. “Because if you’re not rooted in principle, if all we are is listless vessels that are just supposed to follow whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, that’s not going to be a durable movement.”

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“If all we are is listless vessels that are just supposed to follow whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning — that’s not going to be a durable movement.” pic.twitter.com/zAaxdYOGbk

— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) August 19, 2023

The Trump campaign and some of Trump’s congressional supporters responded to DeSantis’ remarks by claiming that his “listless vessels” comment was directed at all of those who support or voted for the former president.

“DeSantis goes full-blown Hillary and call[s] MAGA supporters ‘Listless Vessels,’” tweeted Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.

“I don’t know why anyone running for president would put down half the electorate, and identify them, call them ‘listless vessels’ because they support the former president,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) told Fox News in a clip retweeted by Trump War Room.

“To Hillary Clinton, Trump supporters are ‘deplorables.’ To Ron DeSantis, they are ‘listless vessels.’ The truth is, Trump supporters are patriots,” MAGA, Inc. spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “DeSantis must immediately apologize for his disgraceful insult.”

DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin responded to the claims from the Trump camp. “The dishonest media refuses to report the facts — Donald Trump and some congressional endorsers are ‘listless vessels,’” he said. “Why? Because Trump and DC insiders feel he is entitled to your vote. Ron DeSantis believes your trust should be earned and has the vision, plan, and record to beat Joe Biden and reverse the decline of our country. That’s why Ron DeSantis will be showing up on Wednesday night to debate, and Donald Trump will not.”