Stockholm Syndrome is an emotional condition in which a person develops a psychological bond with/dependency on his captor.
Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has spent his campaign engaged in two primary behaviors. One of them is his sycophancy regarding former President Donald Trump (R).
Donald Trump was the greatest President of the 21st century….
And
I’m worried for Trump. I’m worried for our country. I’ve stood up against the persecutions against Trump, and I’ve defended him at every step[.]
So when Trump engaged in one of his ad hominem attacks, this time aimed at Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy had this to say:
It’s an unfortunate move by his campaign advisors, I don’t think friendly fire is helpful[.]
He went on to say that he would not respond to Trump’s attack.
Ramaswamy’s other campaign behavior is precisely that friendly fire. For instance, regarding the second leading Presidential candidate:
Now, the same billionaires funding the lawsuits against Trump are the ones trying to prop up Nikki Haley. … They want to narrow this to a two-horse race between Trump & Haley, eliminate Trump (one way or other), & [sic] trot their puppet into the White House.
He’s also called all the Republican candidates other than Trump and himself “bought and paid for” and “super PAC puppets.”
That’s entirely consistent, though, with his syndrome: he’s aping Trump’s ad hominem tactics with his own “friendly” fire against fellow Republican candidates.