Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at his caucus night time occasion on the Surety Lodge on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at his caucus night time occasion on the Surety Lodge on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures
Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and creator of ”Woke, Inc.”, introduced Monday night time he’s suspending his presidential marketing campaign.
”We didn’t obtain the shock that we wished to ship tonight,” he mentioned.
Ramaswamy, who predicted to Axios in October a ”stable second or third” end within the Iowa caucuses, got here in fourth within the first presidential contest. Former President Donald Trump dominated the caucuses. Ramaswamy has endorsed Trump for the nomination.
On the marketing campaign path, Ramaswamy tried to emphasise ”America First” insurance policies, a stance that has confirmed fashionable with supporters of Trump.
”I would not name myself a disciple of Donald Trump,” Ramaswamy informed NPR final Could. ”I’d embrace the label of ’America First’ to level out that ’America first’ is larger than Donald Trump. It doesn’t belong to Donald Trump.”
Ramaswamy mentioned his marketing campaign was centered on bringing again a way of nationwide identification.
”I am a necessity in our nation and a job that must be accomplished that I see only a few individuals stepping as much as really ship, which is to reply what it even means to be an American at this time — to revive our lacking nationwide identification, particularly within the subsequent era of Individuals,” he mentioned.
His coverage proposals ranged from chopping the Federal Reserve workforce by at the very least 90%, deporting American-born kids of undocumented immigrants, and elevating the voting age to 25.
As a vocal member of the ”anti-woke” motion, the previous entrepreneur claimed his presidency would struggle in opposition to ”woke” insurance policies.
However his marketing campaign was additionally marked by his amplification of conspiracy theories — together with that the Jan. 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol was an ”inside job”, the 2020 election was stolen, and his feedback that the ”Nice Alternative concept,” which has origins in white supremacist ideology, is a part of the Democratic Occasion’s platform.
His persona additionally drew criticism from his opponents. Throughout a GOP debate, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley known as Ramaswamy ”scum” after he commented on Haley’s parenting and introduced up her daughter. Haley additionally attacked Ramaswamy for his place on the battle in Ukraine, saying, ”You haven’t any overseas coverage expertise and it exhibits.”
In one other debate, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie known as Ramaswamy ”essentially the most obnoxious blowhard in America.”
Earlier than venturing into politics, Ramaswamy based his biotech and pharmaceutical firm, Roivant Sciences Ltd. In 2022, he based Try Asset Administration, an ”anti-woke” index fund supplier.