Vivek Ramaswamy says GOP donors have been telling all candidates to stay away from Trump indictment

Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday called for Republican presidential candidates to declare independence from the donor class in the GOP and vow to pardon former President Trump.

"I challenge every US Presidential candidate to join me in standing for TRUTH," Ramaswamy wrote on Twitter. "Commit to pardon Donald Trump for these federal charges on Day 1, or explain why you won’t. No one should hide. Not Biden. Not DeSantis. Not Haley. Not Pence. Not RFK. Not Scott. Not anyone. Principles over politics."

Ramaswamy made a speech in Miami, Florida, where Trump was arraigned in federal court on Tuesday. During his speech, he announced that his campaign sent a letter to every other presidential campaign, asking them to promise to pardon Trump if elected. 

"It's going to be difficult for those other candidates to sign this letter," Ramaswamy stated. "The reason it's going to be difficult for them is the same reason it's difficult for me. The donor class has been calling every Republican candidate and telling us to stay away from this. Not to touch it from a ten foot pole."

Ramaswamy said that he refuses to listen to the donor class and called for his fellow candidates to do the same. 

"I refuse to abide by being a disciple of the donor class," he said. "I think we need to declare independence from our donor class in the Republican Party. That is why I challenge every one of the other candidates to actually act on their convictions."

The former president is facing 37 counts as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property.

Trump has continued to argue that he was protected under the Presidential Records Act to continue to negotiate with the National Archives about which documents he could keep.