Vivek Ramaswamy argues DOGE hostility rooted in 'irrationality,' defends Trump, Musk's pursuit of 'golden age'

Although he walked away from running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy believes he knows the root of the hostility facing Musk and his waste-slashing agency.

"It comes from a place of irrationality. For the last several years, people have had Trump Derangement Syndrome. That derangement syndrome has now expanded to include Elon and others," Ramaswamy said Thursday on "Jesse Watters Primetime."

Since taking office, President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE agenda have faced mounting scrutiny from several Democrats and media outlets.

The latest wave of criticism facing the Tesla founder concerned his South African heritage.

"The View" co-host Joy Behar corrected herself on Thursday after claiming that Elon Musk was "pro-apartheid," conceding that she really had no idea whether he was or not.

During the first segment of Thursday's show, Behar described Musk as "the guy, who was not born in this country, who was born under apartheid in South Africa, so has that mentality going on. He was pro-apartheid as I understand it."

"I think this is just perfectly wonderful for Trump. He can take a nap and let this foreigner — foreign agent, you know, an enemy of the United States — do his job," she added.

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin noted that Musk, who was born in South Africa, is a naturalized citizen of the United States earlier in the discussion, after Behar made the claim.

"I'm getting some flack because I said that Musk was pro-apartheid. I don’t really know for sure if he was," Behar said at the start of their second segment. "He grew up in that time when it was full-blown before the great Nelson Mandela fixed that. He was around at that time — maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. He might have been a young guy too, so don’t be suing me, OK, Elon?"

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, sparked a firestorm on social media over comments questioning Musk’s allegiance to the United States given that he has been a citizen for "only" 22 years.

"Mr. Musk has just been here 22 years," Kaptur said outside the Capitol on Wednesday. "And he’s a citizen of three countries. I always ask myself the question, with the damage he’s doing here, when push comes to shove, which country is his loyalty to? South Africa? Canada? Or the United States? And he’s only been a citizen, I’ll say again, 22 years."

Kaptur, who has served in Congress since 1983, drew criticism on social media from conservatives accusing her of hypocrisy and using language that Republicans would be pilloried for using.