WATCH: Vivek Ramaswamy destroys WaPo reporter after she asks him to 'condemn white supremacy'

During an event at which Steve King endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy, a reporter from the Washington Post asked the Republican presidential candidate, who is not white, whether he would publicly denounce white supremacy. 

Ramaswamy refused to fall into her trap and instead delivered a masterclass in dealing with dishonest members of the media who desperately try and bait politicians into "gotcha" moments.

"Do you condemn white supremacy and white nationalism?" the reporter asked.

"Of course, I condemn any form of vicious racial discrimination in this country," Ramaswamy replied, "but I think the presumption of your question is fundamentally based on a falsehood that really is the main form of racial discrimination we see in this country today."

He went on to explain that while there have been points in the history of the United States where racism was directed at black and brown Americans, fearmongering about white supremacy is "so far removed from what the reality is in America today." 

The reporter persisted, asking him once again to denounce white supremacy.

"I'm not gonna recite some catechism for you," he fired back. "I'm against racial discrimination in this country, and I'm not pledging allegiance to your new religion of modern wokeism."

Ramaswamy reiterated to the reporter that while he condemned all forms of hate, he would not "play your silly game of gotcha."

"We already know how your game works ... You asked a stupid question," he continued, predicting that the Washington Post would twist his words and run a story claiming that he technically still refused to explicitly call out white supremacy.

"The reality is, I condemn vicious racial discrimination in this country, but the kind of vicious and systematic racial discrimination we see today is discrimination on the basis of race in a very different direction," he added, citing programs such as affirmative action.

Ramaswamy then slammed the media for "dividing this country to a breaking point" by "creating a projection of national division."

"I meet people from the south side of Chicago to meetings like this one of every shade of melanin ... who are hungry for reviving unity in this country, and you with your catechism that you try to get politicians to whatever fake headline you're gonna print on the basis of this conversation tomorrow, that's what's dividing this country to a breaking point. Shame on you."

He called on members of the media to "look people in the eye and tell them what you've actually failed to tell them for the last five years," before taking one final jab at the reporter.

At the end of the exchange, Ramaswamy calmly moved on to the next question as members of the audience clapped in approval.

"A lame reporter from [WaPo] tried to get me to play the game of 'denouncing white supremacy,' while she refused to actually define 'white supremacy' which in recent years encompasses concepts like 'punctuality' & 'the written word,'" Ramaswamy posted on X following the event. "I refuse to play along with her game."