Vivek Ramaswamy pitches GOP debate on X, hosted by Tucker Carlson

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, 38, wants to see a potential fifth GOP debate moderated by journalist Tucker Carlson in an exclusive airing on X.

The biotech entrepreneur says that the Republican National Committee (RNC), which is responsible for the debates, has repeatedly failed to reach younger voters and criticized the committee's recent selection of moderators. Ramaswamy even publicly shamed RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel during the most recent debate in Miami, Florida.

"If there's a January GOP debate, it should be hosted on X, not on cable TV, moderated by a someone like Tucker Carlson who might just ask questions that primary voters actually care about. The RNC says it wants to reach younger voters & new audiences? Well, that’s how you do it," Ramaswamy wrote on X.

The RNC primary debates, of which there have been three so far with a fourth scheduled for December, have not received good viewership numbers. 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has not attended any of them, and instead, has hosted competing events in the same time slot. Trump has called on the RNC to end the debates and back him.

The first Republican primary debate, which was held in Milwaukee on Aug. 23 and was hosted by Fox News, attracted an average of 12.8 million viewers, according to the New York Post.

The second debate, hosted by Fox Business, which took place in Simi Valley, California on Sept. 27, garnered an average of 9.5 million viewers. On Nov. 8, the third debate hosted by NBC News in Miami attracted an average of 7.51 million viewers, the outlet reports.

To compare, Donald Trump partook in an exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson that was aired on X during the same timeslot of the first GOP debate. Trump's interview garnered over 300 million views and is considered to be one of the most-watched interviews in history.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been a fan favorite at the debates, slammed the RNC and Ronna McDaniel on the debate stage in Miami earlier this month, noting the losses Republicans suffered during the off-year election that recently took place. His criticism went viral.

"We've become a party of losers. At the end of the day there is a cancer of the Republican establishment. Let's speak the truth. I mean, since Ronna McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022. No red wave— that never came. We got trounced last night in 2023. And I think that we have to have accountability in our party."

"For that matter, Ronna," he said, speaking directly to her in the audience, "if you want to come on stage tonight, you want to look the GOP voters in the eye and tell them you resign, I will yield my time to you. And frankly, look, the people— they're cheering for losing in the Republican Party."

In his debate opening remarks, the White House hopeful called out the RNC viewership ratings and argued that if they had moderators such as Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, and Joe Rogan then there would be "ten times the viewership."