Vivek Ramaswamy 2024 presidential campaign

Vivek Ramaswamy 2024 presidential campaign
Campaign	2024 Republican primaries 2024 U.S. presidential election
Candidate	Vivek Ramaswamy
Affiliation	Republican Party
Status	Announced: February 21, 2023
Headquarters	Birmingham, Alabama
Slogan	A New American Dream
Website
www.vivek2024.com

Vivek Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur who began his 2024 presidential campaign on February 21, 2023, as a candidate in the 2024 Republican primary. In his campaign announcement, Ramaswamy pitched himself as a conservative with a vision for American national identity.. He formally launched his candidacy in an interview on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show. Ramaswamy has described himself as an "American nationalist".

Ramaswamy has centered his campaign appeal on being an anti-woke candidate. He has been a critic of identity politics, which according to him promotes a culture of "victimhood", that needs to be replaced by culture of merit and excellence. One of his main campaign promises is small government, which may involve massive downsizing of the FBI, IRS, and the Department of Education. Another key campaign issue has been environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), which Ramaswamy alleges are problematic policies that mix business with politics.

According to Politico, Ramaswamy was inspired by Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, and wanted to run "with an entrepreneurial spirit, unorthodox ideas, and few expectations". Ramaswamy had previously considered a candidacy in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, but ultimately decided not to run. Since then, he had been named as a potential presidential candidate. If elected, he would be the youngest person ever to serve as president. Additionally, he would be the first Indian-American to hold this office.

Political positions

Ramaswamy speaking at AmericaFest 2022

Affirmative action

Ramaswamy has expressed opposition to affirmative action, calling it the "single biggest form of institutionalized racism in America today" He has spoken in support of rescinding Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246.

Anti-wokeism

He started his campaign claiming that America is in the middle of a "national identity crisis” due to "woke-ism". He has criticized "COVID-ism", "climate-ism", and "gender ideology", which he calls "new secular religions". In August 2021, Ramaswamy released a book, Woke Inc, which became a New York Times bestseller, and slammed the so-called "modern woke-industrial complex.” A profile in The New York Times described Ramaswamy as an anti-woke candidate. Ramaswamy has argued that "critical race theory" has indoctrinated public schoolchildren.

Abortion

Ramaswamy opposes abortion and said, 'I think abortion is murder.' While opposing a federal ban on abortion, Ramaswamy supports states' six week abortion bans. He also said he supports 'exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother'.

Drugs

Ramaswamy has described himself as "not a war on drugs person". He is in favor of federally legalizing marijuana, calling it "a joke" that the drug is federally criminalized. He is also in favor of decriminalizing ayahuasca and ketamine usage for military veterans suffering from PTSD, arguing it will help combat the U.S. fentanyl epidemic and prevent veteran suicides.

Economic policy

Federal government reorganization

Ramaswamy supports defunding the Federal Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Commerce, the Centers for Disease Control, saying 'Many of these should not exist'. Ramaswamy said he 'will lay off over seventy five percent of the federal employee bureaucrat head count by the end of the first term, fifty percent by the end of the first year.' The environmental, social, and corporate governance are problematic policies that mix business with politics, Ramaswamy alleged in January 2021. Ramaswamy argued for eight year term limits for all unelected federal bureaucrats, similar to term limits imposed on US presidents.

Tax policy

Ramaswamy did not take a public position on the Trump 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Ramaswamy has said he supports a flat total 12.5% tax rate from income, property, capital gains, sales, and inheritance, and favors abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. In his book Nation of Victims, Ramaswamy expressed support for an inheritance tax rate as high as 59%, writing that intergenerational wealth transfers create a 'hereditary aristocracy'.

Federal Reserve

He endorses ending the Federal Reserve's dual mandate to control inflation and minimize unemployment, saying the Fed's mission should be limited to control inflation.

Currency

Ramaswamy opposes a central bank digital currency, calling it a 'grave threat to liberty'. Ramaswamy endorses Bitcoin expansion by arguing a 'decentralized alternative' serves as 'a source of competition to the existing system.' But, he opposed using Bitcoin as a commodity to help stabilize the U.S. dollar.

Energy

Ramaswamy advocates for nuclear energy expansion, by calling it 'the best form of carbon-free energy production known to mankind'.

Election voting

Ramaswamy supports raising the voting age to 25 for those who haven't passed a civics test that is identical to the test immigrants take to become naturalized citizens of the United States. He did not acknowledge whether a constitutional amendment was needed, and if it should replace the twenty-sixth, for voting to require citizens 18 to 24 years old pass a civics test or work as first responders or military personnel. He supports requiring voter ID to cast a ballot and election day as a federal holiday.

Foreign policy

Military intervention

Ramaswamy argues that "foreign policy is all about prioritization" and that good use of the US military is "protecting American soil and American interests, not a pointless war somewhere else." Ramaswamy argues that the United States should use the military to directly take on Mexican drug cartels and “end the fentanyl epidemic in this country." He has furthermore stated "We can do it to Bin Laden, we can do it to Soleimani, we can do it to the Mexican drug cartels south of the border."

China

During his campaign announcement, Ramaswamy stated that America needed a “total decoupling” from China. He has described the Chinese government as a "great existential threat" and argues China now represents a more significant threat to the sovereignty of United States than the Soviet Union was during the Cold War since this "economic codependent relationship" is developing a hostile government. He says we are "addicted" to this economic reliance on Chinese cheap goods and that economic separation from China would be, not easy but 'some sacrifice of short-term conveniences', necessary for long term economic independence. He has called for putting guns in "every Taiwanese household" in order to deter China from invading.

Israel

Ramaswamy is pro-Israel. He favors reducing U.S. military aid to Israel, arguing that he could negotiate more Israeli-Arab bilateral agreements rendering U.S. aid unnecessary by 2028.

Ukraine

Ramaswamy proposes to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine by having Ukraine concede currently occupied territories to Russia. To renew economic relations with the countries, Russia would be required to return to START and end its alliance with China, which he labels as the greater threat. Ramaswamy would cut support for Ukraine, and block attempts of Ukraine NATO membership.

Free speech

Government whistleblowers

Ramaswamy said he would free publishing organisation WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and former American National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden of all charges if elected. He said “Once we have learned the level of corruption that our government actually has engaged in, and repeatedly lying to the public, in a certain form, it’s a form of selective prosecution to not actually prosecute the government actors who broke the law, but simply to prosecute the one government actor who did expose it by technically violating a law of a different kind,” referring to Snowden's actions as 'a certain heroism'.

Government censorship

Ramaswamy stated that if elected president he would oppose government pressures on social media companies to censor disfavored political speech. He said 'As Elon Musk did at Twitter, I will release the "state action files" from the federal government—publicly exposing every known instance in which bureaucrats have wrongfully pressured companies to take constitutionally prohibited actions.' He also wrote 'If you can’t fire someone for being black, gay or Muslim, you shouldn’t be able to fire someone for his political speech.'

Gun rights

Ramaswamy is a supporter of gun rights, and supports a national constitutional carry law. He has also vowed to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Immigration

Ramaswamy says he will significantly lower the number of permitted refugees allowed to immigrate to the U.S., while adding exceptions under "special circumstances", such as for Afghans who assisted the U.S. during its war in Afghanistan. He has said America must "unapologetically" secure the southern border against illegal immigration.

LGBTQIA+ rights

Ramaswamy supports same-sex marriage in the United States but believes churches should not be forced to perform same sex weddings if it conflicts with their beliefs. He supports same sex couples having the same adoption rights, so long as they pass the same background checks as straight couples. On transgender rights, Ramaswamy believes that 18 should be the minimum age to receive gender-transitioning treatments and argued 'children should not be allowed to make irreversible life decisions.' Ramaswamy said he would not reinstate a transgender military ban. During a 2023 debate with an LGBTQ activist, Ramaswamy said he respected different opinions and argued 'I believe that we live in a country where free adults should be free to dress how they want, behave how they want and that’s fine, but you don’t oppress, you don’t become oppressive by foisting that on others, and that especially includes kids because kids aren’t the same as adults.' He stated he does not hold negative views of same-sex couples, but in an interview, Ramaswamy referred to some LGBTQ rights and advocacy groups as "cult like", asking "is what this LGBTQIA+ movement has become?" and accusing them of having 'no obligation to logic.'

Notable events

Polling

According to FiveThirtyEight polling averages, Ramaswamy was polling at 1.2% on March 31, 2023.

In a June survey from Rasmussen Reports, Ramaswamy polled at 3% support.

As of August 24, 2023, Ramaswamy is generally polling third behind Donald Trump (51.6%) and Ron DeSantis (14.8%) among Republican voters, with polling averages placing Ramaswamy at 10.3% However, several polls have also placed Ramaswamy at second place, ahead of DeSantis. An August poll from Cygnal placed Ramaswamy at second place, with 11% support; while another from RMG Research also placed Ramaswamy at second place, with 13% support.

Ramaswamy has generally polled better among college-educated and younger Republican voters. Several polls have found that Ramaswamy has attracted close to 20% support under Republicans under the age of 40, while only gaining 2-3% among Republicans aged 65 or over. Additionally, many polls have found that Ramaswamy is frequently chosen as the second choice candidate among supporters of Trump in the primary, though slightly behind DeSantis.

Republican primary debates

Ramaswamy confirmed that he had hit the minimum number of donors needed to appear at the first debate on July 21, 2023. In early August, he became the first Republican candidate to meet every requirement, after signing the loyalty pledge.

On August 17, a memo written by a super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign was posted online, which advised DeSantis to "Take a sledge-hammer" to Ramaswamy during the debate. Ramaswamy responded, and called the plan "boring". Republican strategist Doug Heye opined that the memo was the "best thing" for Ramaswamy; while the New York Times wrote that DeSantis's allies view Ramaswamy as a "threat".

First debate

Ramaswamy was one of eight candidates who appeared at the first Republican presidential debate on August 23, 2023. He appeared alongside Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, and Doug Burgum.

Upon the debate's conclusion, many media outlets and political commentators declared who they felt was the debate winner, with mixed results. Rich Lowry of National Review opined that DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and Haley were the three top performing candidates. Liz Peek of Fox News felt that Ramaswamy was the worst performing candidate, while Haley was the best. The Daily Telegraph wrote that Ramaswamy "dominated" the debate, while The New York Times opined that Ramaswamy "broke through". The Associated Press likewise wrote that Vivek "overshadowed" DeSantis. Anthony Zurcher of BBC News declared Ramaswamy the top winner, followed by Pence, and then Haley. The Washington Post declared Trump (who did not appear), Ramaswamy, and Pence the debate's winners. The Hill declared Pence, Christie, and Haley the winners, while giving Ramaswamy a "mixed" performance, writing that "It seems near-certain that Ramaswamy is the candidate whose performance will most divide opinion." The reporters of Politico had mixed responses, variously citing Ramaswamy, Pence, and DeSantis as the winners.

Ramaswamy's performance was praised by competitors Donald Trump and Larry Elder, neither of whom appeared at the debate. Trump, who skipped the debate, declared Ramaswamy the winner; while Elder, who did not qualify, praised Ramaswamy's response to fatherless households in America.

Following the debate, Ramaswamy topped Google Trends and became the most searched for candidate. Ramaswamy received over one million Google searches, while competitor Haley received around 100,000 comparatively.

A post-debate poll, conducted by JL Partners, asked registered Republican voters who gave the best performance in the debate. Ramaswamy was the top candidate, with 28% selecting his performance as the best of the night. DeSantis closely followed with 27%, in addition to Pence with 13%, Scott with 8%, and Haley with 7%. FiveThirtyEight also polled Republican voters, with 29% responding that DeSantis possessed the best performance, while 26% selected Ramaswamy.

Following the debate's conclusion, Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed it raised an additional $450,000 from donors since the previous night, with an average donation of $38.

Second debate

Ramaswamy is expected to appear at the second Republican presidential debate on September 27, 2023.

Interviews

Ramaswamy has gained some media attention for his participation in a large number of interviews. His frequent online presence has been credited with his quick rise in polling among Republican voters. Ramaswamy has accepted almost any interview request, regardless of the outlet.

In August 2023, Politico reported that Ramaswamy had appeared on over 150 podcasts since February, and once appeared in 30 separate interviews within a single day. Time Magazine has described it as a "everywhere-all-at-once strategy", which has produced "a stream of online content more voluminous than any of his competitors." Politico also described it as "the most always-on, always-available strategy of the 2024 presidential race."

During his campaign, Ramaswamy has been interviewed by a large number of individuals across the political spectrum including Tucker Carlson, Bret Baier, Don Lemon (which partially led to Lemon's firing), Krystal Ball, Margaret Hoover, Megyn Kelly, Chuck Todd, Kaitlan Collins, Mike Rowe, Bill Maher, John Stossel, Michael Knowles, Candace Owens, Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson, and Russell Brand.

Donations

In the first three months of Ramaswamy's campaign, he raised $1.16 million from donors, along with $10.55 million that he donated to his own campaign. In the second quarter, he raised $2.7 million from unique donors, and donated an additional $5 million of personal wealth to his campaign.

On July 21, 2023, Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed to The Hill that it had reached 65,000 unique donors. According to Ramaswamy, 40% of his 65,000 donors came from individuals who either made their first donation to a Republican, or their first political donation ever.

Support of President Donald Trump

While some candidates, including Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, have been openly critical of former president Donald Trump throughout his ongoing legal battles, Ramaswamy has both defended Trump and leveled unspecific criticism against the former president.

After Trump's social media accounts were suspended following the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Ramaswamy and Jed Rubenfeld co-wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed that called the attack "disgraceful", but argued that social media websites should be treated as state actors and that their ban of Trump violated the First Amendment. Trump has praised Ramaswamy for saying "only ... good things" about him, and the two men have met several times.

When interviewed, he called Trump's indictment in The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump "a national disaster." Regarding the 2023 jury verdict against Trump for sexual abuse in E. Jean Carroll vs. Donald J. Trump, Ramaswamy stated "this seems like just another part of the establishment's anaphylactic response". Following the federal indictment of Donald Trump in June 2023, Ramaswamy vowed to give Trump a presidential pardon if elected.

Attempted Wikipedia editing

In May 2023, Forbes reported Ramaswamy had paid an editor to alter his Wikipedia page to appear more favorable to political conservatives before announcing his campaign. Forbes reported:

Anyone can make changes to Wikipedia articles, but it’s against the rules for anyone to edit an article about themselves. It’s within the rules to pay someone else to make changes on Wikipedia articles as long as those payments are disclosed. The changes to the Wikipedia page, first reported by Mediaite, were made by a user named Jhofferman, who provided the disclosure on Wikipedia.

The paid editor removed references to his involvement with the Ohio COVID-19 Response Team and his Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans postgraduate fellowship (other editors later restored the removed content, citing the report). Paul and Daisy Soros are respectively the elder brother and sister-in-law of businessman and social activist George Soros, who has been the subject of numerous right-wing conspiracy theories.

Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed that it had paid an editor, but denied it was trying to "scrub" his Wikipedia page. A campaign spokesperson said the edits were revisions of "factual distortions" and blamed a Ron DeSantis-aligned super PAC for amplifying the story.

LinkedIn lockout

On May 17, 2023, Ramaswamy's LinkedIn account was locked for violations of LinkedIn’s user agreement. The company cited three posts where he was critical of Joe Biden, the Chinese Communist Party, and climate change. On May 24, the company issued a statement that they do not tolerate “misinformation, hate speech, violence or any form of abuse” on their platform. Ramaswamy stated that his lockout was censorship, and a showcase of “Typical Big Tech behavior: trying to cover their tracks after egregious election interference.” On May 25, the company restored his account, stating that the lockout was "in error".

Endorsements

Main article: Endorsements in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries § Vivek Ramaswamy

See also

• Asian American and Pacific Islands American conservatism in the United States
• List of political editing incidents on Wikipedia

External links

• Official site
• Declaration of Candidacy (Form 2) at FEC.gov