A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, August 28, 2022 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.

       JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS CO-HOST: I'm joined now in the studio by former Trump primary opponent, turned Trump supporter, Vivek Ramaswamy.

       Thank you for being here with us.

       VIVEK RAMASWAMY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's great to be here.

       KARL: So, you were there. I saw you there on election night. I know you were there in the aftermath. You spent time with the now President-elect Donald Trump. What's your sense? How is he approaching this transition?

       RAMASWAMY: I think he cares about uniting the country. I think that is Donald Trump's number one focus. And I do think we have to get back to a place, after this election, after that decisive victory, which I do think was a gift to the country, get back to a place where ordinary Americans who might have voted differently amongst their family members or their colleagues or their neighbors, to be able to get together at the dinner table and say, we're still Americans at the end of this. That's very much Donald Trump's head space.

       He's also learned a lot from that first term. And I think he's going into this second term, even to take to new heights some of the things he wasn't able to accomplish in the first term, which I think is going to be a good thing.

       KARL: I want to come back to that unity theme, but first I've heard you say that this is a new Republican Party. So, in brief, how is this different from the old Republican Party? What's the key differential?

       RAMASWAMY: Well, it's a party that's now a multiethnic, working class coalition. You saw black voters, Hispanic voters, young voters. That was a big one. A much younger composition of the Republican primary base coming together on basic principles that really weren't as beholden to older Republican orthodoxies, but principles like free speech, anti-censorship, meritocracies, staying out of World War III. These are some of the common threats that brings together what is a pretty diverse and broad tent coalition to restore those basic constitutional principles.

       KARL: Yes.

       RAMASWAMY: Here's a big one, and Donald Trump's talked for a long time about the deep state, but this idea of restoring self-governance is big in this new coalition. The idea that the people we elect to run the government, they haven't been the ones actually running the government for a very long time. Donald Trump is going to be the president of the United States in the real sense of that word. Capital "p" president. Where he is actually making the decisions with the democratic will of the people behind him, not the un-elected bureaucratic class underneath him.

       And I think that's something that unites a common threat of even former Democrats to independents, to libertarians, to, of course, traditional Republicans as well. I think that that's a common thread that unites us.

       KARL: Well, let me – let me ask you about the unity, and I think you've referred to this as a resurgence of national unity.

       RAMASWAMY: Yes.

       KARL: I'm hearing that from some people around the former president, but I'm hearing a very different message from others around the former president. For example, Mike Davis, who had been mentioned by Donald Trump Jr. as a possible candidate for attorney general in a new Trump administration, has been calling for all-out revenge against Trump's opponents. I want to give you just a couple of examples, and believe me there are many, but a couple of examples of what he has said on X. He says, “Trump's opponents attempted to bankrupt him for non-fraud, imprison him for non-crimes, and take him off the ballot and take off his head. Now they want unity? F them. Let's unify them in prison.” And one more, a short one, “Here's my current mood. I want to drag their dead political bodies through the streets, burn them, and throw them off the wall, legally, politically, and financially, of course.”

       Now, Davis has said he's not going into the new administration, but this is a – he was a clerk for Justice Gorsuch. And again, Donald Trump Jr. said this is the kind of guy that could be attorney general.

       RAMASWAMY: Well, look, the fact of the matter is you haven't heard that from Donald Trump. And you could airlift any quote from a number of people on the left who weren’t very happy with the election result either but who aren't going into the Harris-Biden administration in their trailing days either.

       What you're hearing from Donald Trump is he is going to be a president for all Americans. He is a guy who in that first term, he -- you know, he had crowds chanting “lock her up” for Hillary Clinton. He didn't prosecute her. I think Donald Trump is focused on what makes people's lives better.

       And actually, my message to Democrats out there, even those who didn't vote for Donald Trump, is to give him a chance to actually make your life better and I think a lot of people across the country even who have bought into I think some false narratives about Donald Trump are going to be pleasantly surprised as to finding more money in their paycheck, prices coming down in the country, a secure border -- those are things most Americans actually care about.

       And I think it's time to turn the page on a lot of these histrionics or Hitler comparisons or airlifting some quote of some person who Donald Trump --

       (CROSSTALK)

       KARL: I mean, this is somebody who's been -- been pretty a staunch defender of Trump, pretty close to the team and --

       RAMASWAMY: And by your acknowledgement, someone who’s not coming into the administration.

       KARL: Okay. So all the talk of retribution, is that gone now?

       And by the way, I’ve heard you say that he didn't prosecute Hillary Clinton. I mean, I’ve talked to Bill Barr about this, he wanted the Justice Department to prosecute, you know, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and they kind of pulled him back.

       But your sense is that that retribution talk is done?

       RAMASWAMY: I’m going to tell you what Donald Trump has said on this time and again, success will be our retribution. Success will be our vengeance. That's a direct line from Donald Trump. It's a beautiful sentiment.

       And I do think that success is unifying. Nothing's going to unite this country more than economic growth. Nothing is going to unite this country more than people feeling like their wages are rising at a faster pace than prices which hasn't been the case for the last few years.

       And here's a big one that I know a lot of Democrats should support and do support as well is restoring stability and peace on the global stage.

       I mean, the reality is the United States of America is at our best when the chief diplomat of the United States is the democratically elected U.S. president. That's not the case right now. It hasn't been for years.

       That changes on January 20th, bringing us off the brink of major conflicts in other parts of the world.

       So I think that those are going to unite the country regardless of partisan affiliation, that's what I’m looking forward to.

       KARL: Is he going to continue to support Ukraine? I mean, I’ve heard from the Ukraine side that the call actually went well that he had.

       RAMASWAMY: Yeah.

       KARL: Elon Musk and President Trump with President Zelenskyy.

       RAMASWAMY: I think his interactions with Zelenskyy in recent weeks and months have been actually quite constructive.

       Donald Trump's first term is a great guide for stability. We were on the brink of major conflict when Donald Trump sat down with Barack Obama at that last transition. He's sitting down with Joe Biden on Wednesday.

       Donald Trump is a pragmatist in looking after American interests and he believes in honesty when it comes to international diplomacy. He is the top diplomat but I think also a tough love message to other allies even saying that you need to bear your fair share of your defense spending.

       Yes, that's good for the United States, but yes, that's also good for Europe as well.

       And so, I think that type of honesty and diplomacy is actually going to bring true strength and true peace in a way that we haven't seen in the last four years.

       KARL: Now, obviously, Trump's promised --and you've talked a lot about this, the -- you know, mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

       First of all, do you really think that we're going to see him round up and deport upwards of 11 -- sometimes he's put the numbers high as 20 million people out of the United States? Is that really going to happen?

       RAMASWAMY: Donald Trump's campaign promise was the largest mass deportation in American history.

       KARL: OK.

       RAMASWAMY: And he's going to keep that promise.

       And I’ll tell you let's just start very pragmatically here, I think most Americans agree with this. You take the number of people who have entered the country just in the last 18 to 24 months. That's millions of undocumented immigrants, illegal migrants who have really no place in this country, anybody who's committed a crime -- automatically, that already is the largest mass deportation in American history.

       Now take that to the next level, not an iota, not a cent of government spending should go to subsidize this. Not to sanctuary cities, not to federal aid to people who are in this country illegally, and we're going to see a large number, by the millions of self deportations as well.

       And so, these are pragmatic places to start that would give us yes, the largest mass deportation in American history --

       KARL: But fall far short of 11 million or more.

       RAMASWAMY: We're going to -- we’re going to go step by step aggressively. Donald Trump's going to stay true to his campaign pledge but in a way that respects the dignity of the Americans who are already here.

       KARL: OK. So --

       RAMASWAMY: And I do think it's offensive to use when we have $35 trillion of national debt, government funds to subsidize this type of illegal migration. That's half the problem.

       And if any illegal migrant is no longer a customer of the welfare state, you're going to see self deportations --

       KARL: Let me --

       RAMASWAMY: -- combined with deportations of those who enter --

       (CROSSTALK)

       KARL: Let me ask you though I mean there's been a lot of attention over the years to people known as the DREAMers. These are -- these are people who came into the United States with their parents as young children, grew up here, went to school here, some of them great success stories. But they're -- but they are still undocumented immigrants.

       And there's a lot of concern, some of them are deeply frightened by what they heard from Donald Trump during the campaign.

       I want to play just -- just two, you know, the words from two of these DREAMers of what they’ve said of their concerns now after the election, and get you to respond.

       (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

       JESSICA CORTEZ, DACA RECIPIENT: I could wake up tomorrow and there could be animmigration agent, you know, an ICE agent outside of my house, or outside of my mom’s house. We don't know.

       REYNA MONTOYA, DACA RECIPIENT AND ALIENTO FOUNDER: We are not what you're seeing on TV. We are people who have been living here for over ten years, who call Arizona home.

       (END VIDEO CLIP)

       KARL: I mean, they're worried about getting that knock on the door.

       RAMASWAMY: Look, I say this as the kid of legal immigrants to this country, as the proud child of legal immigrants to the United States of America. If your first act of entering this country broke the law, that doesn't allow you to remain in this country. You have no right to enter the United States legal – illegally.

       KARL: I mean they came in as two or three, five years old.

       RAMASWAMY: Well, let me – let me just say a few words about this. I think we’re going to be pragmatic. A few basic principles that all Americans agree with are this, OK? One is no migration without consent. Think about your nation like a body. Number two is, that consent should only be granted, and should be granted, to migrants who benefit the United States of America. But those who enter without consent must be removed.

       And I think that those are very pragmatic principles that most Americans agree with.

       KARL: But I'm asking you about – so they must be removed, these – these people that have spent their entire lives growing up –

       RAMASWAMY: I'm going to separate – I'm going to separate two discussions here. First is, let's talk about what the legal immigration system ought to look like.

       KARL: Yes.

       RAMASWAMY: Do we have a broken legal immigration system? Yes, we do. But I think the first step is going to be to restore the rule of law, to do it in a very pragmatic way, Jonathan, a pragmatic way, that says, let’s just start. I don't think you disagree with me. I would – I would hope not. I don’t think most Americans do, to say, those who have entered in the last couple of years, they haven’t established roots in the county, those who have committed a crime, they should be out of this country. That is by the millions. That alone would be the largest mass deportation. Combine that with ending government aid for all illegals and see self-deportations.

       KARL: All right.

       RAMASWAMY: And I want to say one more thing, because this is important to the second term, don't forget the second mass deportation that we require as well. And I use this figuratively. The mass deportation of millions of unelected federal bureaucrats out of the D.C. bureaucracy. I actually (INAUDIBLE).

       KARL: We’re going to – I – we’re out of time, but I do want to talk to you about that in the future. And just very quickly, we are out of time, what are you going to do? Are you coming into the administration? Do – are we going to see you replace J.D. Vance in the Senate? What are you going to do?

       RAMASWAMY: There's a couple great options on the table. I want to have the biggest possible impact on this country. We're not going to sort that out in the press, but we’re having some –

       KARL: Secretary of Homeland Security?

       RAMASWAMY: We’re having some major – we’re having some high-impact discussions and you’ll be the first to know when we have announcements to make.

       KARL: All right, I'll hold you to that. Thank you very much, Vivek Ramaswamy.

       RAMASWAMY: All right, thank you.

       JONATHAN KARL, ABC "THIS WEEK" CO-ANCHOR: So look, this was obviously not the result you wanted. But, but I've heard you say you're optimistic today, why?

       CHARLAMAGNE THE GOD: 'Cause I have no choice but to be. You know, I'm an American. I live in America. I'm not one of these people that's out here saying, "oh my God, if Donald Trump becomes president again, I'm going to move." Where am I going? I'm here. And, you know, I do believe in the future of this country because I have no choice but to. You know, I think what the vice president said in her concession speech was right on point when she said, you know, the America, the light of America's promise still shines bright. I have no reason to feel otherwise. And I'm a wake up, you know, and just be all doom and gloom and tell everybody the world is ending. It's like, no. You know, American, Americans went out there and it was a free and fair election, and they made a choice. And now we all have to deal with the consequences of that choice. And whether we like it or not, you know, Donald Trump is the president of the United States of America. I know it feels like the divided states of America over the last, you know, several years, but it is still the United States of America. So that's what I'm looking for us to do. We've got to unify in some way, shape or form.

       KARL: You were out there, I saw you at the convention in Chicago. You interviewed Kamala Harris a couple of times. Were you surprised?

       CHARLAMAGNE That she lost?

       KARL: Yeah.

       CHARLAMAGNE: I'm not going to say surprised. You know, surprised isn't the word that I would use because it's a toss up. Like, you know, it was going into the election. You know, they were neck and neck. I think that she needs to get a lot more credit than she probably is going to get because the campaign was dead, you know, literally.

       KARL: With Biden.

       CHARLAMAGNE: Oh Yeah. The campaign was dead with Biden. I know people make a lot of jokes about the whole 'Weekend at Bernie's' thing, and they would say things like, I would vote for Biden if he was a corpse. Well, he damn near was. And, you know, there was no life whatsoever. And I think that the vice president made a lot of people sit up on the couch and pay attention and at least be curious. With Biden, everybody was just knocked out, sleep gone.

       KARL: Have you talked to her since the loss?

       CHARLAMAGNE: No, I haven't, but I, I, I can't wait to.

       KARL: What are you gonna tell her?

       CHARLAMAGNE: I'm a tell her I love her. I value her. I appreciate her. And, you know, whatever she plans to do moving forward, I'm going to always support her. And I'm a say, what I've been saying on the radio and on my podcast, that she had nothing to be ashamed about. You-- she ran a great campaign and only had 100 days to do it. Nobody thought she could even do you know what it is that she did like, you know, the first day, getting all the delegates in line, you know, raising the money that, that she raised, you know, digging the campaign out of a hole to where they were neck and neck on Election Day. And she inspired a lot of people. Like I got you know, I got four daughters and my, my nine-year-old and my six-year-old. And I'm watching, you know, "This Week" ABC on Sunday morning or I'm watching CNN or Fox and MSNBC, they're coming in and they're asking me questions about Vice President Kamala Harris. And they were "are you going to vote for the vice president, Daddy," yes I'm voting for the vice president, and when she lost, they were upset that she was lost. So, you know, she did inspire a lot of people, and it was a historic campaign.

       KARL: What-- What do you make of the the, the demographics here? I mean, Trump got one out of every three voters of color.

       CHARLAMAGNE: No.

       KARL: Yeah.

       CHARLAMAGNE: One out of --

       KARL: 33%. Really? Yeah.

       CHARLAMAGNE: When you say color, you mean like black, brown, everything. Oh. Well, I think that, you know, people have different issues that they care about, and I think that there's nobody out there that's a single-issue voter. I think some of this is a backlash to race and gender and identity politics. But, man, most people, they just care about keeping food on they, on they table and keeping a roof over their head. And I think sometimes people forget about that. I think that they forget about, you know, the working class. And I, for whatever reason, Donald Trump speaks to the grievances of the working class in a real way. And I keep telling folks, people forget what you did, they'll forget what you said, but they'll never forget how you made them feel. And when you go back to 2020, even though it was a pandemic and it was COVID.

       KARL: Yeah.

       CHARLAMAGNE: People don't care. All they know is they got stimulus checks with his name on it. And that's what they remember. And so people think about that when you have conversations with folks, they'd be like, "yo I remember how 2020 felt!" And they think that they're going to feel that, you know, and this in this next this next term.

       KARL: Yeah. I mean, how do you explain I mean, he obviously swept the battleground states. He drove up, you know, turnout around the country in Republican areas. But he did much better than Republicans-- than he had done before in places like Chicago, Brooklyn, Queens.

       CHARLAMAGNE: Because of dinner table issues. It's-- yo it's literally that simple. Every day people wake up and all they want to do is have more money in their pocket and they want to feel safe. I don't care if you're black, white, gay, straight, whatever religion you are, those are the two things that you're thinking about every day. How can I keep some money in my pocket and how can I stay safe? And when you look at, you know, issues like the economy, when you look at the border and that's what I was telling people, we had this conversation back in February. I was having conversations with folks and they was telling me, "my God, these gangs are coming into our neighborhood. And I know it's because of the border. We've got to close the border. " They were having these conversations. And I told you, Jon, this was the first time in my life that I heard people in my community, black people, brown people, having those conversations. So that was going to be an issue. They felt like things were safer. They felt like the border was safer, you know, under Trump. And by the way, it's not like the Democrats didn't want border security. They just didn't know how to message it right. "Build the wall" may sound elementary, but you know what that signals to people? Border security. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't complicate it by saying, "we've got to have the most comprehensive border plan and you know that there's a bipartisan, you know, border bill that Democrats and Republicans couldn't agree on, and Donald Trump shot it down." No, Trump is saying build the wall. And when they were telling you that it was a problem, y'all were say, "no, it's not a problem. Let's create sanctuary cities and let's bring, you know, the people into our cities." And so when they started putting those, you know, illegal immigrants on the buses and on the planes and sending them to those sanctuary cities, what did they say then? "No, don't come." So it looked like the Republicans were right and Democrats were wrong, and nobody knew that that was going to be one of the big central issues that people thought about when they went into that voting booth.

       KARL: Should Harris have done more to make it clear she wanted to go in a different direction from Joe Biden or did she want to go in a different direction?

       CHARLAMAGNE: I think that if she wanted to go in a different direction, she should have expressed that. And once again, that goes back to messaging. That goes back to communication. I've been telling folks the language of politics is dead. You cannot finesse people anymore. You can't believe one thing, but then get in front of people and tell them something else. And if you are, you got to be really good at it, right? What do I always say? Republicans are more sincere about their lies than Democrats are about their truth. So when she's on The View and she's shaking her head like, "no, no I wouldn't-- I wouldn't do anything different." But then you on Fox News with Bret Baier and you like "my administration, is going to be totally different than a Biden presidency" if that was the case. I just think that should've been repeated several, several times. Like, you know, one thing that she said when I had a conversation with her was repetition is good. Like, that's part of being disciplined, right? You have to repeat yourself over and over and over. That might have been one of the issues that she should have repeated herself over and over and over on.

       KARL: So you had Lara Trump on the show weeks before the election.

       CHARLAMAGNE: You know, after Trump won, I just sent her a message and told her "hey congratulations." And I said to her, I hope that I hope that this administration is going to be an administration for all Americans. And she said, thank you. “I promise” in capital letters that it will be. Listen, man, I think that we've seen enough of Donald Trump to know that may not be the case. But like I said, I just have to have a sense of optimism because he still is the president of the United States of America. And I just want us, like I said, as a people moving forward, we got to start building more community amongst each other. And, you know, we just got to hope for the best. Like, I'm not wishing for America to fail. Why would I want that?