‘Mind your own damn business’: Vivek Ramaswamy repurposes Tim Walz quote for GOP

CHICAGO — Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Donald Trump administration Ambassador Carlos Trujillo came to Chicago on Thursday to rip on the city as what they consider an example of the ravages of illegal immigration.

Yet, amid the bashing of Chicago and Vice President Kamala Harris for not being tough enough on undocumented migrants, Ramaswamy — who reportedly has political ambitions in a future Trump administration or as an Ohio gubernatorial or U.S. Senate candidate — gave props to Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at a press conference at the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

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“I gotta admit I kind of like Tim Walz’s slogan. What does he say? ‘Mind your own damn business,’” Ramaswamy said at the press conference hosted by the Trump campaign.

Ramaswamy repurposed the slogan with an “anti-woke” sentiment he’s known to push, contrasting with Walz’s message about Republicans intruding on citizens' reproductive freedoms.

“It's a message that we espouse ourselves when it comes to entering your house and taking your gas stove, mind your own damn business,” Ramaswamy said. “When it comes to letting millions of illegals into this country to commit crimes and mind our business, we tell them mind your own damn business. When it comes to actually indoctrinating our children in this country, telling small businesses who they can and cannot hire … mind your own damn business.”

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The press conference — part of a week's worth of daily Trump campaign counter-programming outside the Democratic National Convention — started with new Trump campaign ads featuring a video compilation of Harris’ comments saying that “an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.”

Trujillo, who served as U.S. permanent representative to the Organization of American States from March 2018 to January 2021, bashed "sanctuary cities" such as Chicago, which won’t deny someone city services strictly because of their immigration status.

“The United States is not a sanctuary for all. It’s a sanctuary for Americans who come here to work for our county and to defend our Constitution,” Trujillo said.

Ramaswamy called Chicago “a city ravaged and devastated by the effects of not only rampant crime, but rampant crime worsened by the effects of illegal mass migration to this country.”

The estimated illegal immigrant population in the United States was 11 million in 2022, according to a July 2024 article from the Pew Research Center. The number peaked at 12.2 million in 2007.

The latest homicide statistics from the City of Chicago show that there have been 364 killings in Chicago this year through Aug. 17 — 34 less than the same time last year. Chicago began to see a decline in homicides in 2022 after a spike in 2020 and 2021, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Tyrone Muhammad, founder of Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change and Ex-Cons for Trump, attended the press conference in support of Ramaswamy and Trump. As a native Chicagoan who said he served 21 years in prison for murder, Muhammad agreed with Ramswamy’s characterization of Chicago a crime-ridden city saying he understands “what gang drugs and violence does.”

“They're saying the right messages, talking about the right points in our communities. The only question I would have is, why don't Republicans reach out more to communities that feel more disinvested by the Democratic Party?” Muhammad said. “For 60 years, my grandmama, uncles and family members have traditionally voted Democrat, and so here's the opportunity for us to do something different and give another party a chance to see how they can help fix some of the issues.”

J.R. Majewski, a controversial former congressional candidate from Ohio, sat in the audience at the Trump press conference and posted on X his support of Ramaswamy’s speech.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.

Harris is scheduled to deliver her presidential nomination acceptance speech tonight at Chicago's United Center, where prime-time Democratic National Committee festivities have taken place since Monday.