Image via President Donald Trump / Truth Social.

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who is seeking Ohio's 2026 GOP gubernatorial nomination, is very much a MAGA Republican and a supporter of the American First agenda. And he is an ally of President Donald Trump. Although Ramaswamy ran against Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Ramaswamy offered only mild criticism of him. And he ended up dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump.

But according to Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt, Ramaswamy believes that the MAGA movement needs to tone down its angry rhetoric and emphasis on "owning the libs."

Isenstadt reports that the 40-year-old Ramaswamy will be the featured speaker at an event being held by Turning Point USA — the organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk — on Tuesday, October 7 at Montana State University, where, according to Isenstadt, he "plans to call on the GOP to embrace a less overtly belligerent and oppositional posture."

Isenstadt explains, "Ramaswamy's approach is a sharp break from some prominent conservatives who, in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination, have called for a clampdown on what they describe as a violent left. ... According to his prepared remarks, Ramaswamy will say the conservative moment is at a 'fork in the road' and urge them to abandon its fixation on 'owning the libs' in favor of a less overtly confrontational posture."

Ramaswamy, according to Isenstadt, plans to tell the crowd, "We can still stand for truth, while viewing those who believe in falsehoods not as our enemies who must be vanquished, but instead, as our fellow citizens who have lost their way and must be shown the light. Not to berate them, embarrass them, and banish them, but to pray for them, to talk to them, and to persuade them…. So, what does it mean to be an American in the year 2025? It means we believe in free speech and open debate without censorship, whether you're Nick Fuentes or Alex Jones or Jimmy Kimmel."

The Axios reporter notes that Ramaswamy "has received Trump's endorsement in the Ohio governor's race and is the strong favorite to win the primary."

Read Alex Isenstadt's full article for Axios at this link.