(NewsNation) — When asked how the government could protect free speech in classrooms, Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said he would direct the Department of Justice to enforce civil rights laws “evenhandedly” to eliminate “political viewpoint discrimination.”
“Much of what we call ‘wokeism,’ it meets the Supreme Court’s test for what counts as a religion,” Ramaswamy said Monday during his NewsNation town hall. “You can’t force somebody to bow down to the religion of the employer, especially when that employer is the federal government.”
On the campaign trail, Ramaswamy focuses on “anti-woke” policy. He’s said the United States has become a place full of “victims” and that the country has lost its purpose and its focus on faith, patriotism, hard work and family.
The definition of “woke” changes depending on who you ask, according to ABC News. Recently, the term has been used by some conservatives as an insult against progressive values.
In the ABC News article, Maurice Mitchell, social movement strategist with Movement 4 Black Lives, argues that “because “woke” is associated with Black people, it’s been a useful club for those who want to beat those seeking justice over the head with white grievance politics to win elections without deploying explicitly racist terms.”
Anna Lester, 17, spoke out at the town hall and said she finds it difficult to voice conservative opinion in her high school classroom without facing pushback from her teachers and peers.
“I don’t see an equal attitude towards students who share more progressive opinions. I’m a young person, and I know that a lot of people are in my shoes, and they’re too scared to share their opinions because of their fear of being labeled,” Lester, a senior in high school, asked at the town hall.
Ramaswamy encouraged Lester and other young people to make their voices heard, even if they feel outnumbered. He also made it clear to Lester that the president’s job is not to be a “political messiah.”
“Fear has been infectious,” he said. “But courage can be contagious, too. So I will do my part, but I need you to do yours. And that is how we’re going to revive this country.”
In the early months of the campaign, Ramaswamy’s numbers have soared in the polls after he initially registered at little more than 0%. Some recent surveys have shown him in third place for the presidential nomination behind front-runner former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A Morning Consult poll updated last week had Ramaswamy at 8%. While that’s nowhere near Trump’s 59% and half of DeSantis’ 16%, it’s still well above other candidates such as former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, each at 3%, per Morning Consult.