Former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) called his campaign rival Vivek Ramaswamy a “pretty bad lounge act” of former President Trump, following the conservative entrepreneur’s performance at the first Republican primary debate on Wednesday.
“I think he’s a pretty bad lounge act of Donald Trump and is trying to … thinks that he’s going to be able to be a new version of Donald Trump,” said Hurd, who did not qualify for the debate, in a Thursday interview on CNN.
“But unfortunately, the truth is, you do not win an election by mimicking someone who has lost,” he continued. “Donald Trump is a proven loser. He hasn’t won an election since 2016. And when you’re trying to be a clone of someone who’s already in the race, you’re never going to be successful.”
Ramaswamy, who has recently seen his support tick upward in the polls, was a target and instigator of attacks on the seven other candidates in Wednesday’s debate.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley slammed Ramaswamy over his stance on the war in Ukraine, saying during a fiery exchange the political newcomer has “no foreign policy experience, and it shows.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he “had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT,” while former Vice President Mike Pence appeared to take aim at Ramaswamy with his comment that “we don’t need to bring in a rookie.”
Hurd criticized the entire slate of candidates on the debate stage over the “name-calling” and “back-and-forth,” which he compared to a reality TV show.
“At times last night, it seemed like we were watching a ‘Real Housewives’ reunion on Bravo rather than a Republican primary debate,” the presidential hopeful said. “And I think we saw last night a lot of people on the stage that have talent, but there was a lack of vision.”
“There’s a lot of people that are not running against Donald Trump,” Hurd added. “They’re running to be his vice president.”