After pushup challenge, Ramaswamy says the time to fix systemic racism has long passed

INDIANOLA, Iowa — A Hawarden pastor asked Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to do some pushups with him at an event here Friday night — and Ramaswamy obliged.

Ramaswamy also answered the Rev. Samuel Ansong's question about how to reconcile Ramaswamy's platform of ending programs such as affirmative action with prejudice and discrimination historically tied to institutionalized forms of systemic racism.

"Was there a time and place for correcting for those past injustices? Yeah, it was like in 1870," Ramaswamy told Ansong.

Ansong told the Des Moines Register he's about halfway into his first year as pastor of United Methodist Church in Hawarden. Originally from Ghana, he said he's lived in the U.S. for about 20 years and has also lived in Lamoni.

One of Ramaswamy's campaign platforms is "reverse racism is racism." Ramaswamy told his audience of about 40 people in Indianola that means being against affirmative action and quotas, which he said are "inherently divisive," "anti-meritocratic" and "anti-American at their core."

Ramaswamy acknowledged slavery and that the Civil War was fought over it.

"Some people learn that later in life than others," he said — a jab at presidential candidate Nikki Haley, though he did not name her, over Haley's recent response to a question about the cause of the Civil War in which she failed to mention slavery.

Ramaswamy said the country did not do a "perfect job" of correcting for injustices.

"But at a certain point in time, I think that what you would think of as racism in this country — or you can fill in the blank, sexism or any other -ism or form of discrimination — it gets to be small enough, not to be zero, but small enough that the best thing we can do is let it atrophy to irrelevance."

He said the anti-racist movement, which he defined as "a movement that calls out for us to be more race-conscious of the differences, to correct them," has "actually created more racism in this country."

Ramaswamy said at a certain point, "the right answer is, I think, we have to move forward."

"There's a time for justice and a time for mercy," he added.

Ansong told the Register he thought Ramaswamy gave a good answer to his question, particularly his use of the terms justice and mercy.

"If you don't have the heart to forgive, then there's no reason trying to fight for justice," Ansong said.

He said he's not asked the question of any other candidates but would if he got the chance.

As for the pushups, Ansong told Ramaswamy he'd seen him on social media doing pushups with Logan Paul.

Ansong told the Register he saw it as an opportunity to promote pastors being involved with fitness and as a way to inspire young people.

Ansong said he came to Indianola to visit his mother and brother.

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Phillip Sitter focuses for the Des Moines Register on reporting on suburban growth and development in the western metro areas. Phillip also is helping cover Republican presidential campaigns ahead of the 2024 Iowa Caucus. He can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. Phillip is on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa pastor presses Vivek Ramaswamy on racism, challenges him to pushups