Roger Simon, co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, joined the newsmaker line on Friday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his coverage of former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s performance in Iowa, Argentine President Javier Milei’s speech at the World Economic Forum, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives’ recent vote to pass a continuing resolution.
Simon, who was in Iowa for the state’s caucus on Monday, said he attended businessman Ramaswamy’s event where the candidate announced he would be suspending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump in the race moving forward.
Ramaswamy garnered 7.7 percent of the vote in Iowa compared to Trump’s 51 percent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 21.2 percent, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s 19.1 percent.
“Vivek suspended his campaign, and the people there were tremendously supportive of him. And they were very supportive when he said that he was transferring his recommendation to Donald Trump. I mean, it was actually kind of moving in a certain way,” Simon said during his interview with Leahy.
Simon also revealed a piece of advice he gave Ramaswamy on Monday, which was to take a position offered to him in a Trump administration instead of receding back into the business world as the opportunity would make him the “odds on favorite to inherit the MAGA movement in 2028.”
Friday’s interview then pivoted to Simon’s analysis of Milei’s speech at the World Economic Forum this week, in which the Argentine president called on world leaders to reject socialism and embrace “free enterprise capitalism” instead to put an end to world poverty.
Commenting on the Argentine president’s speech, Simon described Milei as a man who is “more articulate than Donald Trump,” adding he “hits every note” and is an “IQ off-the-chart guy.”
“This guy has got it – it’s all relative IQ. This guy’s got a higher IQ period across the board than any politician I can think of at the moment. The right, left, center, or whatever you want to call it. I mean, this is really, you know, world-class stuff,” Simon said.
Pivoting to Thursday’s vote in the House of Representatives to pass a continuing resolution that would fund the government through March 1 and March 8, Simon said he was “surprised,” adding his perception of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-14) shifted as a result.
“I’m surprised at what happened because I heard Mike speak at his first speech after getting the job, which was at the Republican Jewish coalition in Las Vegas,” Simon explained. “And I was there forever covering the event and I thought the guy was sensational. I think he’s a face man and that’s really sad, I mean, because he’s a good speaker, he’s fluid…These people are cowards.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Mike Johnson” by Mike Johnson.
