Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday night promoted a conspiracy theory beloved by members of the neo-Nazi movement.
And now Vice reports that many neo-Nazis heard Ramaswamy's dog whistles loud and clear.
In particular, the publication zeroes in on the reaction of white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes, who appeared happily astonished when Ramaswamy backed the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory that Jewish financiers and the Democratic Party are plotting to replace white Americans with immigrants.
"Fuentes... appeared visibly shocked that Ramaswamy went so far," the publication reports. "He watched open-mouthed as Ramaswamy continued to boost wild conspiracies. 'Let’s go,' a visibly delighted Fuentes told his thousands of viewers."
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Fuentes was far from alone, and Vice's report documented other instances of white supremacists and QAnon conspiracy theorists excited to hear Ramaswamy validate them before a mass audience.
"When someone like Ramaswamy promotes great replacement and other conspiracy theories, he's platforming a violent and paranoid ideology to a mainstream audience. It's clear that he speaks the language of conspiracy theory believers, anti-Semites, and extremists — many of these same people have embraced his candidacy," Mike Rothschild, a researcher on conspiracy theories and extremism, tells Vice.
