A resurfaced clip of controversial Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate and billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy is going viral online after he made remarks about Black mothers that many commenters viewed as racist and disgusting. The clip has since spread rapidly across social media, where users accused Ramaswamy of everything from pandering to white conservatives to displaying what some described as internalized racism.
FactPost News reposted the 19-second clip to X, where it quickly began circulating across social media platforms. In the video, the Ohio politician says, “a Black baby is probably safer in the inner streets of Chicago than in the womb of his own Black mother.”
The clip immediately sparked outrage online, particularly as conversations surrounding Black maternal mortality rates continue gaining national attention. According to the CDC, Black women are significantly more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women in the United States. However, commenters argued that Ramaswamy’s remarks did not come across as concern for those disparities, but instead as racist rhetoric targeting Black women.
This is also not the first time Ramaswamy has made similar comments. In a 2023 post on X, he wrote, “We hear about ‘black lives matter’ all the time, but the fact is that a black baby is safer in a park, by himself, in the inner city of Chicago than he is in his black mother’s womb. This is sad and we need to change it because all lives matter.”
Ohio Unites Against Racism
The comment sections across X and Reddit were quick to unite in dragging the Ohio GOP hopeful “The worst kind of white supremacist is the white supremacist who isn’t even white,” one user wrote. Another commenter responded with, “Does he think that by appealing to the racists by being racist that the racists will forget his name is Vivek Ramaswamy?”
Others questioned whether the clip was even real because the statement sounded so extreme. “Totally assumed this was a deepfake video, it’s such an outrageous thing to say. But no, it’s real,” one person commented. Another Reddit user argued, “There’s a reason he ran as a GOP candidate. He wasn’t some enlightened liberal that happened to live in a red state. This is who he is. He’s just talking from the heart.”
For many commenters, the backlash was bigger than just the resurfaced clip itself, instead tapping into larger conversations surrounding Black motherhood and medical racism in America. Others pointed out that discussions around Black maternal mortality are already incredibly sensitive, which only made Ramaswamy’s remarks even more controversial.
