Ramaswamy, who spent much of his presidential campaign running into any news cycle that remotely validated his campaign’s anti-illegal immigration rhetoric, was something of a latecomer to the unfolding story in Springfield, where he spoke of growing up and playing tennis at nearby Wittenberg University and getting subs at Mike And Rosy’s Deli.

The campaign surrogate came not to bury anti-immigrant sentiment but to pander to it—and to the Trump-Vance ticket.

The event, open to the public, is taking place in the industrial Ohio town at the center of the nation's immigration debate and presidential race.