Meet Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy: ‘I’m Running to Defeat Trump’

If you don’t know much about Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, you are not alone. I dare say most probably don’t know much about him, and if you’ve heard anything, it’s most likely a reference to him as the “anti-woke businessman” he claims to be. But there certainly is more to him, which he spelled out in an interview with Jason Whitlock of the Fearless with Jason Whitlock podcast. The 37-year-old strikes me as a little bit of former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and a whole lot of ambition.

The interview begins at 3:50 and ends at 33:14.

After some small talk, Whitlock jumped right into the interview with the candidate. “Why are you running for president?” he asked. Ramaswamy wasted no time in pointing out that he is not simply anti-anything. He is on a mission for something. “I’m running for president not just to run from something anymore. We’re gonna start running to something.” The first millennial to ever run for the Republican nomination for president used words such as “purpose,” “meaning,” and “identity” and eloquently articulated his love for America and his agenda to get us back on the right track.

The father of two said that “faith, patriotism, hard work, [and] family” have been replaced by “wokeness, transgenderism, the climate cult, COVIDism,” and more. He obviously is not in favor of what Obama called the “fundamental transformation of America.” He, rather, wants to restore “what it actually means to be an American,” including our Judeo-Christian values.

Whitlock wanted to know how those values jibe with his Hindu religion. Ramaswamy was not at all taken aback by the question. He will defend those values because the U.S. was founded on them, and, as president, will be committed to protecting religious liberty, he asserted. He also pointed out that he lives more in harmony with these roots than do some professing Christians. 

We are all used to age being discussed regarding presidential candidates, but usually, it’s about how old age plays a role in a person’s ability to perform the duties of the office. With President Joe Biden’s obvious frailty, this is something on the minds of voters—and with what we see from him, it should be. Trump is no spring chicken, but he’s energetic and in no way appears to be gasping for air. 

Ramaswamy, however, brings to the fore the other end of the spectrum: his youth, which might also concern some voters. Ramaswamy sees it as an advantage, however. He pointed out that the other—older—candidates are not going where he goes and what garners respect from young people: the Southside of Chicago, left-wing media outlets, and college campuses, for example.

Obama was respected for his youthfulness and was deemed charismatic and eloquent. I could argue those points, but those are common adjectives attributed to him. Ramaswamy certainly has a swagger to him and possesses a smooth tongue. In that, he is akin to the 44th president. He’s not unlike Trump, though, in his comfort with talking about his success and wealth—something, we all remember, Mitt Romney struggled with. To be more precise, he was almost apologetic about it…well, when he wasn’t doing something as stupid as offering Gov. Rick Perry a $10,000 bet on the debate stage. Americans can respect wealth gained through hard work, but they don’t respect throwing it away in a ridiculous bet as they struggle to take care of their families. Romney was clueless about how to come across as “one of us.” Trump is the antithesis of that. He embraces his wealth while still embracing common folks. He’s relatable. Ramaswamy is reminiscent of him in that way. He spoke to Whitlock with ease concerning his success while not appearing out of touch.

While still addressing his young age and highlighting his success, he said, “I haven’t been sitting around for the last 20 years of my life, either. … I’ve built multibillion-dollar businesses—multiples of them—from scratch. I was not born into wealth. My parents came to this country with almost no money.” He pointed out, too, that in addition to building companies, he’s written bestselling books and has “lived the full arc of the American Dream,” adding, “I’m proud of that.”

He is, indeed, the author of three books, his wife is a surgeon, and his family has put eight figures of their own money into the campaign—“hard-earned, not inherited." He pointed this out as evidence that he is not playing games, but is in it to win it. This, he said, after Whitlock accused him of being willing to criticize Gov. Ron DeSantis but not Trump and suggested this may indicate he is actually running a stealth campaign to be Trump’s vice president, rather than truly going after the presidency. Ramaswamy balked at that suggestion.  

“I’m running to defeat Trump and then to defeat Biden on the path to leading this country to a national revival.” About this revival, make no mistake about it, “we’re serious about driving a national revival,” he said. 

An outsider needs to be the person at the helm, Ramaswamy posited, dismissing Trump as fitting that description this go-round. One only gets to be an outsider once, he said. No “professional politicians,” the candidate asserted, although it’s hard to view Trump as such.

Like Trump, though, he did speak of “declaring independence from China” but drew a line in the sand when he said, “I believe I’m in this race to take the America First agenda far further than Donald Trump did.”

Ultimately, Ramaswamy believes good things are in store for America. His message is not one “of decline,” but one of “ascendance,” he said.

The 2024 list of candidates is growing, many on it being the professional politicians Ramaswamy feels the voters should reject, but time will tell if the pro-America, anti-woke young man vying for the highest office in the land can convince the people that he is the one to elect at this crucial time in America’s history.

Photo: Jack Gruber—USA Today/Sipa USA