Meet Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump 2.0 and the first millennial Republican presidential candidate
Who is Vivek Ramaswamy? That’s the question that seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment. I personally had never heard of the American businessman until he stepped foot on stage at the first Republican presidential debate held on 23 August 2023. Fast forward to today and it’s fair to say that within the short amount of time that he’s been in the national spotlight, he’s definitely managed to make quite the impression. And by that, I, of course, mean that the man is absolutely and completely batshit terrifying.
It should then come as no surprise that a number of political commentators have been comparing Ramaswamy to former US President Donald Trump. I hear there’s even talk that the Republican frontrunner might at one time join Trump in the mugshot hall of fame. But you didn’t hear that from me.
Regardless of how questionable Trump’s authority as a politician has proven to be over the years, it’s a sad yet accurate statement to say that a number of conservative and Republican politicians often mirror the former president’s public style. And, as unfortunate as it is, the very existence of Trump has indeed led to the formation of some of the nastiest and most troublesome politicians we’ve ever seen. We saw it during the 2020 presidential race, and we’re seeing it again now.
From his insistence on creating his own truths to his complete lack of accountability or respect for human rights, Trump has succeeded in pushing his twisted agenda and thereby created his own army of mini douches. And, standing right up near the top of this ridiculous battalion is none other than Ramaswamy. For those of you who might be unaware of Ramaswamy and what he stands for, don’t worry, I’m about to dive into who this man really is. Spoiler alert: it’s not pretty.
Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?
Ramaswamy, 38, is a business investor (while I usually wouldn’t qualify a 38-year-old as a millennial, I suppose it makes sense given how old his competitors are) who not only has zero political experience but is also the youngest major Republican candidate in US history. According to Sky News, the entrepreneur has labelled Trump as “the best president of the 21st century.” If Ramaswarmy succeeds in his campaign, he’s also sworn to pardon Trump in case he ends up getting convicted of federal charges. Oh, and apparently, this pardon also extends to the numerous political terrorists who have been charged for the 6 January 2021 Capitol riots. Overall, let’s just say that Ramaswamy is a big fan of forgiving insurrectionists.
The businessman was always considered an over-achiever, attending Harvard where he academically thrived and even had time to moonlight as a rapper going by the stage name of ‘Da Vek’. According to student newspaper The Harvard Crimson, ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem is Ramaswamy’s life motto and theme song… You know, it’s all starting to make sense now.
Ramaswamy is extremely anti-woke. In 2021, he released a book titled Woke Inc wherein he slammed modern-day wokeism and identity politics comparing the “woke left” to “psychological slavery.” He’s since spent a lot of time creating videos and media all targeted towards supposedly ‘embarrassing’ or ‘shutting down’ the leftist woke agenda. Just see for yourself:
Like so many other conservative politicians who’ve taken after Trump’s rhetoric, Ramaswamy frequently insists that if he were to be elected president, he would prioritise reinstating the American dream. What’s different, however, about the 38-year-old is that his so-called USP is that as a younger candidate, he can target gen Z in a way no other candidate can. In his campaign video, he emphasises the need to shift gen Zers onto a different path.
Once again, what we’re seeing is a conservative politician who is set upon undermining and patronising young Americans—insisting that due to their age, they’re incapable of understanding how misguided they’ve been politically. Newsflash: that’s simply not the case.
Oh, he’s also a vehement climate change denier, so that’s fab.
How did Vivek Ramaswamy make his money?
As previously mentioned, Ramaswamy is mega loaded. The biotech mogul is currently worth approximately $950 million, as estimated by Forbes. So, how did he do it?
Well, Ramaswamy’s massive fortune predominantly stems from a drug development company named Roivant Sciences, which went public in 2021. Since founding the company nine years ago, the conservative has reportedly ciphered over $260 million out of Roivant in the form of salary, bonuses and capital gains. That, alongside his books and other political ventures, has set Ramaswamy up for life.
His campaign is also completely self-funded, something we haven’t seen in an election cycle for quite some time now.
What are Vivek Ramaswamy’s top campaign promises?
Presidential candidate promises can be really confusing to digest, so here are the primary things you need to know regarding what might happen if Ramaswamy were to be successful in his bid.
First off, the candidate has big plans to completely gut the federal government. Ramaswamy has promised to abolish the FBI, the Department of Education, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The conservative, speaking with NBC News, deemed the departments fundamentally “redundant.”
Moreover, Ramaswamy has promised to completely erase “race-based affirmative action,” up the voting age to 25, and forge national unity by completely breaking away from Communist China, as reported by The New York Times.
Why is Vivek Ramaswamy so dangerous as a candidate?
While this might seem like an obvious question, it’s something we need to properly consider. Yes, we should still be wary of candidates such as Ron DeSantis who not only has a bigger voting base but is also incredibly racist and homophobic.
Still, the reason why someone like Ramaswamy is so dangerous is because he’s engaging with a voting pool that before now has never been properly utilised: young conservatives. One of the reasons why Joe Biden clinched the top seat in 2020 is because of gen Z. An NBC exit poll suggested that 65 per cent of those who voted between the ages of 18 and 24 voted for Biden—11 per cent more than any other age group.
One of the main reasons this happened was because of Trump. Young people went to the polls specifically to keep Trump out of office for another term. Now, Biden has a horrifically low approval score among young conservatives, so just imagine if Ramaswamy was able to mobilise them in his favour.
It’s not a ludacris concept. Trump won the 2016 presidential election because he was an outsider, someone who Americans thought could shake up the failing system. And now that we’re approaching 2024, I have this really bad feeling that we might just see history repeat itself.
