In a recent episode of “Pod Force One,” Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican gubernatorial candidate from Ohio, revisited his previous support for foreign worker visas, stating that it’s “unrelated” to the more pressing issue of educational failures that need addressing.
“I’m open to starting conversations,” he asserted during an interview with a Post journalist, reflecting on the internal conflicts within the MAGA movement that led him to support the H-1B program back in December 2024.
After Trump’s election, some officials expressed concerns that American culture tends to favor mediocrity over excellence, claiming it values popularity over true achievement, particularly in academics.
Ramaswamy pointed out that this mentality has allowed countries like China to keep their skilled engineers, while the U.S. has struggled to retain top talent.
Elon Musk, a fellow co-chair of Doge, was also in favor of the H-1B program during that time.
In a recent announcement, Trump stated that employers will now face a fee of $100,000 for each new H-1B applicant.
When asked about the H-1B program during his interview, Ramaswamy downplayed the controversy, attributing failure primarily to delays within the education system.
“It’s a moral failure,” he lamented. “If we truly want to lead in these sectors, we need to ensure that people from Ohio reach their full potential, supported by a modern economy.”
He acknowledged that there’s a lack of proactive measures being taken in American education standards.
“On the right, we’re united in our concerns about the educational system’s rejection of excellence, as opposed to what’s happening on the left, which seems to focus on divisions based on various identities,” he said, mentioning the topics he covered in his 2021 work on Woke Inc.
Ramaswamy warned that if students remain significantly behind their peers in countries like China and Singapore, it signifies a decline in American exceptionalism.
“We’re essentially facing a threat to our national identity here,” he noted.
As the frontrunner for Ohio governor, he advocated for enhanced educational curricula to reverse years of declining outcomes.
“These improvements are crucial, and they must involve family engagement, not just depending on government solutions,” he stressed.
He highlighted a successful approach used in Singapore in the 1980s that transformed public school performance through hands-on learning before tackling abstract concepts.
Despite viewing the H-1B system as flawed, Ramaswamy pointed to the necessity of welcoming highly skilled foreign workers, provided they’re sponsored by U.S. companies.
“Implementing the Singaporean math curriculum could lead to tangible enhancements in student achievement,” he suggested.
He called for a modern-day “Apollo mission” aimed at elevating educational standards, stressing the urgency of the matter.
As he noted, “If 20 years from now we’re still lagging significantly behind those nations, that’ll be detrimental to our standing.” Ramaswamy currently leads in the GOP primary for the Ohio governorship, though by a narrow margin.
