Vivek Ramaswamy gave a speech to a heckling crowd in Cincinnati that ended with boos from young conservatives.
The Greater Cincinnati native and Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee spoke at the Young Americans for Liberty national convention at Xavier University on July 29. Young Americans for Liberty are a grassroots student-led group with chapters on college campuses across the country.
Members of the crowd shouted, booed and clapped during Ramaswamy's 14-minute speech, where he talked about property taxes, inflation and the divide between "those who want America to win and those who want America to whine."
Ramaswamy argued for meritocracy and against "victimhood," and implored the crowd to resist socialism. But that seemed to miss the mark
with some members of Young Americans for Liberty, who support limited government, individual freedom and libertarian ideals.
The crowd and Ramaswamy clashed several times. Ramaswamy said "the real threat to the country" is the rise of socialism. A few people yelled back, "No." Attendees yelled about Israel and data centers, but clapped when Ramaswamy praised capitalism.
"What about our energy prices?" one person shouted. When Ramaswamy asked the crowd if they wanted to "win" or "whine," one person responded: "I want to deport 50 million foreigners."
"The question is what actually lifts up the people in this country?" Ramaswamy said in a short clip that was widely circulated online. "Is it going to be more socialism? Is it going to be more affirmative action? Is it going to be adopting the methods of the left? Or is it going to be to embrace our system of free enterprise, the rule of law and the founding freedom of the Constitution?"
@salemchevy Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at Yalcon 2026 Raw video. Crowd was not too happy #politics #yalcon2026 #vivekramaswamy #ohio @Vivek Ramaswamy
♬ original sound - S Max Moran
"The truth of the matter is ‒ no matter what happens, in whichever direction we go ‒ the people of my generation have already made it. We're gonna be fine," said the 40-year-old Millennial to an eruption of boos from the crowd. "It's going to be your generation that pays the price. That choice belongs to you."
"You're a political cretin," one audience member yelled, telling Ramaswamy to get "out of here."
The Enquirer reached out to Ramaswamy's press secretary and the Young Americans for Liberty with questions about the speech, but did not receive a response before publication.
The billionaire and former presidential candidate is running a tight race for Ohio governor against Democrat Amy Acton after earning the Republican nomination in May.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Vivek Ramaswamy booed by conservative students at Xavier
