Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy spoke to a packed room in Penn State’s Sparks Building for about an hour on Thursday night as part of Turning Point USA’s “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour.” Ramaswamy monologued about his life story and journey into politics before taking questions from those in attendance.
Prior to the start of the event, the line of attendees stretched from the front entrance of the Sparks Building up the Pattee Mall, turning past Pattee Library and reaching the end of the sidewalk at the south end of the Paterno Library. Doors were scheduled to open at 5 p.m., but attendees were not allowed in until 5:25 p.m., five minutes before the planned start.
Several people in line were turned away from attending the event due to capacity issues and were given Turning Point USA “Make America Great Again” hats by organizers.
The venue for the event, 121 Sparks, was filled beyond its 347-person capacity, with about 75 more people sitting in aisles.
Ramaswamy’s talk was preceded by a comedy set from Turning Point USA contributor Jobob Taeleifi. Taeleifi identified himself as a former comedian who turned toward work in politics and began contributing to Turning Point USA. Taeleifi’s set consisted of jokes about John Fetterman, race, Joe Biden and more.
Ramaswamy appeared a little more than 10 minutes into Taeleifi’s set, beginning his talk by speaking about his life story. He noted his parents’ immigration to the United States, growing up in Cincinnati and his time at Harvard, Yale and in the professional world before he turned to politics for a career.
After explaining his transition to politics, Ramaswamy spoke about his views on America’s political climate. He took issue with the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and the way that companies treated liberal issues in the aftermath. He talked about the political culture on college campuses and how he felt there was an “intolerance for dissent.”
Ramaswamy finished his monologue by speaking about the importance of the 2024 election and how the students in the room could make an impact.
After speaking for 20 minutes, Ramaswamy opened the floor up to questions and about a dozen made their way to the mic.
Two said they traveled some distance to see Ramaswamy, with one saying he drove four hours and the other saying he drove 14 hours from Nova Scotia, Canada.
Ramaswamy took questions on religion, entrepreneurship, the Jan. 6 insurrection, Donald Trump and his personality and politics, the Israel-Palestine conflict, trust in the government, climate change and more.
One middle-aged person who identified themselves as a Penn State alum was given the final question and asked about the importance of the 2024 election. Ramaswamy took his final moments to use that to urge those in attendance to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
“It’s going to be your generation that saves this country. You have a chance to shock the political class,” Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy left the event at 6:52 p.m. after speaking for a little more than an hour.
State College is set to host another political rally on Friday, Oct. 18, when Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks around 6 p.m. at the State Theatre to campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
