Vivek Ramaswamy: Major new player in Republican primary

He is young, ambitious and “very good looking”. This is the man who could stop Donald Trump in his tracks.

He has gone from obscurity to second in line.

The Republican race to the White House is no longer between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.

There is a new name being talked about.

Mr Trump is still ahead, a young “anti-woke” entrepreneur, with literally no experience in politics, has surged to second place.

Vivek Ramaswamy as a teenager. Picture: Instagram

Ramaswamy now sits in second place behind Trump in the race for the Republic nomination. Picture: Getty

Most polls have support for Vivek Ramaswamy at around 12 per cent, equalling Mr DeSantis.

Some have him in front of Mr DeSantis.

The Harvard/Harris poll observed Mr DeSantis was “losing steam to Ramaswamy”, whose anti-woke message is far more radical than the Florida governor.

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

He is the son of Indian migrants and only the second Hindu candidate to run for the presidency.

He made millions working as the CEO of a pharmaceutical company and later as the director of a Peter Thiel-backed investment fund.

Most importantly perhaps, he has carefully positioned himself as ally of Mr Trump, vocally defending him despite being rivals.

When heckled earlier this year at the Conservative Political Action Conference about Mr Trump, Mr Ramaswamy said, “I love the man”.

And in a bold move that sets him apart from Mr DeSantis he has vowed to pardon Mr Trump if elected president, suggesting the allegations about the former president’s handling of sensitive documents were reflective of possible bad judgement but not criminal offences.

Ramaswamy with wife Apoorva Tewari and their two sons. Picture: Instagram

“I’m especially sceptical here,” he said of the 37 indictments against Mr Trump.

“If the facts described in there are true, I think this is reflective of very poor judgment on President Trump’s part. I would have made different judgments than he made. But a bad judgment is not the same thing as breaking the law.”

Asked how he would differentiate himself from Mr Trump on policy, Mr Ramaswamy said he would go “further” in office than Mr Trump.

“I’m taking the ‘America first’ agenda further than Donald Trump did, because I’m doing it based on, first, principles and moral authority, not just vengeance and grievance,” he said.

“That’s the case I make to our base is, it’s not diet Donald Trump or Trump without the drama. There are others making that case. My case is bolder than that.”

On the agenda in a Ramaswamy presidency is defunding the FBI and UN, raising the voting age to 25, ending affirmative action “in every sphere of American life”, and trimming 75 per cent of executive branch employees to reduce the size of the “administrative state”.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

Ron DeSantis’s campaign is ‘faltering’. Picture: AFP

And amid the crowded Republican primary field, Mr Ramaswamy has focused his attacks primarily on one candidate — Mr DeSantis — while leaving others largely untouched.

He’s accused the Florida governor of copying his talking points, hiding from unfriendly media interviews, and crony capitalism in throwing Disney “special privileges” in Florida before trying to take them away.

For his part, Mr Trump has been effusive about his rival, praising him both publicly and privately, offering encouragement for his White House bid, and telling anyone who will listen how “charismatic” and “good-looking” Mr Ramaswamy is.

Vivek is surging to 2nd place

DeSantis is imploding into single digits

President Trump remains the dominant frontrunner, and the only candidate the Deep State continues to attack

I joined @foxnews today to discuss ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/u1Id7ezTKd

— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) July 22, 2023

What game are both men playing?

When asked how Mr Trump campaign generally views the former president’s boosting of Mr Ramaswamy, one Trump adviser bluntly told Rolling Stone that “of course” it’s a “total ratf***” against Mr DeSantis.

According to the publication, team Trump were hoping the articulate biotech entrepreneur would surge which would force Mr DeSantis to expend resources attacking Mr Ramaswamy and other lower-polling, non-Trump candidates.

For Mr Ramaswamy his unlikely alliance with the former president is serving as his introduction to a party that still loves Mr Trump who has considerable hold over the Republican base.

As Philip Elliot wrote in Time: “Even a bankshot nod of approval from Trump can go a long way in a party – that in the face of electoral evidence otherwise – considers him a kingmaker.

“Just as a smart NASCAR driver does, Ramaswamy is tucking into the draft of the frontrunner, cutting down on head wind and lowering air pressure to ease his own path. Put another way: you can’t stop the wave, but you can ride it.”

Mr Trump has told Fox News that he would consider Mr Ramaswamy for his vice president or a cabinet position if he becomes president again.

And if Mr Trump drops out due to legal dramas he is expected to endorse Mr Ramaswamy, paving the way for one of the most unlikeliest president’s in America’s history.

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