RAMASWAMY: “It’s good to see you, Sean. How are you?”
Hannity: “I’m good. I think you dealt with the issue of your battle with Congresswoman Pressley a lot over the weekend. I don’t think we need to rehash the whole ground. I want to go over some of the issues, though. You know, you said aid to Israel, our number one ally, only democracy in the region, should end in 2028, ad that they should be integrated with their neighbors.”
RAMASWAMY: “That’s false.”
Hannity: “I have an exact quote. You want me to read it?”
RAMASWAMY: “That’s actually — yeah, I can tell you the exact quote. What I said is, it would be a mark of success if we ever got to a point in our relationship with Israel if Israel never needed the United States’ aid. And, Sean, you know how politics is played. A lot of the other professional politicians who have been threatened by my rise have used that statement to say that I would cut off aid to Israel. That’s not correct. I’ve been crystal-clear that the only condition — “
Hannity: “Do you — but do you — here’s what I want to know. Do you understand the importance of the strategic alliance, the intelligence sharing, in an area of the world where we have a lot of enemies, which, by the way, boggles my mind that we look for the lifeblood of our economy and the world’s economy from that very same region of the world. We have more natural resources here, which you agree.”
RAMASWAMY: “Absolutely.”
Hannity: “But you do understand how important that alliance is and how important the intelligence factor, and how important it is with Iran especially, seeking nukes.”
RAMASWAMY: “I understand it, I think, more deeply than probably anybody in this race. I’ve traveled to Israel. I have business partners in Israel. The reality is this. By the end of my first term, our relationship with Israel will will be stronger than it ever has been because I will treat it as a true friendship, not just a transactional relationship.”
Hannity: “Then why did you say that they shouldn’t have preferential treatment? Why did you say that Israel should not have preferential treatment from us? That’s a direct quote.”
RAMASWAMY: “Sean, I — no, those are direct quotes from headlines summarized by opposition research, fed to the fake news media. The reality is — “
Hannity: “You say that, but — “
RAMASWAMY: “Abraham accords 2.0 is my top priority. Abraham accords 2.0 is my top priority, which is to get Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, into that pact with Israel, and foremost to have a partnership with Israel that does something really important for the U.S., which is make sure Iran never ever ever has nuclear capabilities. That’s important to the United States. And the other thing I’ve said, Sean, is that Israel is our friend, but good friends learn from each other. I would love Israel’s border policies in this country. I would love Israel’s tough-on-crime policies and strong national identity in this country. I would love an Iron Dome like Israel has to defend itself against Hamas, which is a good thing for Israel. I want something like that here in the United States So I don’t read from the traditional GOP talking point binder that’s handed to traditional candidates. That’s true. That lends itself to be misquoted. But it’s actually a much more authentic commitment to Israel on the substance than just checking off the talking point of saying that we stand with Israel. That’s meaningless. I prefer substance and that’s exactly where I have gone in a lot of these long-form podcasts that I’ve done.”

[Good for Hannity to put Ramaswamy’s feet to the fire. Ramaswamy keeps trying to blame his own rhetoric on other campaigns, but Ramaswamy said what he said and he said it on tape. Oddly, though, no one’s yet trying to force him to answer for his footsie-playing with 9/11 Truthers, and for outright lying about that too. — Ed]