The February announcement of his candidacy went completely unnoticed. But after the first televised debate, where Vivek Ramaswamy was very combative, he became the darling of the Republican Party, rising to third position in the polls, behind Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. Since then, this 38-year-old millionaire of Indian origin has sold out in Iowa and New Hampshire and gives dozens of interviews every day, where he presents himself as the heir to Donald Trump.
Like the former president, he made his fortune in business (biotech), has no experience in politics and loves the spotlight. He also has his bravado side, sure of himself, and a huge patter which exasperated his rivals during the debate. His goal, he says, is to “push forward” Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. For this, Vivek Ramaswamy wants to dismantle the federal government by removing the FBI, the tax authorities, the Department of Health and Social Services and eliminate 75% of civil servants! He also advocates a return to the gold standard, does not intend to protect Taiwan vis-à-vis China beyond 2028, because America will then no longer depend on the island for its semiconductors. Finally, the troublemaker with the carnivorous smile wants to stop all aid to Ukraine and negotiate with Vladimir Putin. He said he was “shocked” that some of his opponents made “a pilgrimage” to see “Pope Zelensky” in Kiev, when they did not make it to the island of Maui, Hawaii, ravaged by a fire in August. “You have no experience in foreign policy and it shows,” said Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador, during the first televised debate.
“Vivek promises the moon”
Like his mentor, Vivek Ramaswamy practices the art of provocation, essential for attracting the media. For example, he is campaigning for a constitutional amendment that would push back the right to vote at 25, unless young people pass a civics test. He claims that “more people are dying from climate change policies than from the current warming”. And he repeats that if he is elected he will pardon Donald Trump, “the best president of the 21st century”. “Vivek promises the moon and the stars. He does not understand that he depends on Congress to pass reforms, notes presidential historian David Pietrusza. Moreover, he is unfamiliar with the Constitution and how to pass amendments.” And despite its misleading slogan – “The Truth” – it dwells on far-right conspiracy theories. The government, he claims, hid things about 9/11 and the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021.
Born in Ohio to immigrant parents from Kerala, India (father an engineer, mother a psychiatrist), Ramaswamy is kind of gifted. In addition to studying biology at Harvard and then law at Yale, he is also an excellent pianist and a top-level tennis player. In college, he composed libertarian raps under the name of Da Vek, and, in the countryside in Iowa, the actor had fun imitating the rapper Eminem – to the chagrin of the latter. After Harvard, he worked for an investment fund and won a scholarship for Yale from an organization of the family of George Soros. Which is not without irony, because the billionaire on the left is the bane of the Republicans.
Clever editing
Father of two children, married to a surgeon, he then created Roivant Sciences, which took over patents for drugs abandoned, often due to lack of funding, at the experimental stage. He raises a hundred million and buys a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease from GlaxoSmithKline for a pittance. Even before having finished the tests, he praises his efficiency everywhere and sells part of his shares to an investment fund, which brings him a fortune. However, the drug is a failure. But, thanks to a clever assembly, the entrepreneur avoids losses. In 2019, he sold part of Roivant’s activities to a Japanese conglomerate and pocketed $175 million. Then he confuses an asset management company and writes books, especially on wokism in the company.
Her popularity ? “It’s because he’s a newcomer who wants to shake up the system and a good enough charismatic speaker,” said Sarah Shah, a Democratic activist with Indian American Impact, an organization responsible for mobilizing the Indian-American electorate. Can he win the primaries? Probably not. Donald Trump remains the big favorite. And Vivek Ramaswamy is Hindu, a heresy for the overwhelming white and Christian majority in the party. What does it matter! The ambitious can always run for a post in the administration… if his mentor is elected.