Vivek Ramaswamy 2024 presidential campaign
Vivek Ramaswamy began his 2024 presidential campaign on February 21, 2023, as a candidate in the 2024 Republican primary.[3] He formally launched his candidacy at an interview on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show.[4] In his campaign announcement, Ramaswamy pitched himself as a conservative[5] with a vision for American national identity.[6] On January 15, 2024, Ramaswamy suspended his campaign, subsequent to the Iowa caucuses.[7][8]
Vivek Ramaswamy 2024 presidential campaign
Announced: February 21, 2023
Suspended: January 15, 2024
Des Moines, Iowa
New Hampshire
Columbus (formerly)[1]
Birmingham, Alabama (formerly)[2]
A New American Dream
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."[9] Ramaswamy considered a candidacy in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, but decided not to run.[10] Since that time, he had been mooted as a potential future presidential candidate.[11][12][13] If elected, he would have been the first Indian-American president and youngest person to ever assume the presidency.[14][15]
His central campaign promise is an extensive and severe downsizing of federal agencies.[16][17] His other key campaign issue is environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives, which Ramaswamy alleges are detrimental agendas that mix business with politics.[18] Ramaswamy markets himself as an "American nationalist"[19][20] and "anti-woke" candidate.[11][4] He has written that the corruption of American society by what he calls "victimhood narratives" makes it impossible to achieve merit-based hierarchies.[21]
Ramaswamy campaigned extensively for the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, the first contest of the candidate selection process.[22] His campaign targeted young people, voters who were disaffected, and Donald Trump supporters who could be persuaded that Ramaswamy would "take the America First movement to the next level."[23] At an October Iowa campaign event Ramaswamy said "The only chance we have is Iowa. ... If I win Iowa, I'm your next president."[1] By January 2 the campaign announced that Ramaswamy had attended two or more campaign events in each of Iowa's 99 counties, 252 public events with another 25 scheduled by caucus day.[22][24] Ramaswamy placed fourth in the caucuses on January 15, garnering 7.7% of the votes.[25]
Political positions
Affirmative action
Ramaswamy opposed affirmative action, calling it the "single biggest form of institutionalized racism in America today."[29][30] He has spoken in support of rescinding Lyndon B. Johnson's Executive Order 11246.[31]
Anti-woke
A profile in The New York Times described Ramaswamy as an anti-woke candidate.[4] Ramaswamy's August 2021 book, the New York Times bestseller, Woke Inc described his view of the so-called "modern woke-industrial complex."[32] He argued that critical race theory indoctrinates public school children.[33] He also called "COVID-ism", "climate-ism", and "gender ideology", "new secular religions."[11]
Anti-semitism
Ramaswamy was among the first speakers at the 2023 Republican Jewish Coalition Conference in Las Vegas, where he noted his strong views against anti-semitism and his long-standing relationship with some Jewish organizations, since his college days.[34]
Ramaswamy openly come in support of Israel and the Jewish people, even though he favored a reduction in US aid to Israel by 2028.[35] After the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, Ramaswamy showed support for Israel saying that Israel has "a right to defend itself" and defeat Hamas.[36]
Responding to the 2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism, in which several University presidents evaded answering whether "calling for the genocide of Jewish People" was against their University rules,[37][38] Ramaswamy criticized the university leaders for their poor response to anti-semitism on campuses.[39] Further, Ramaswamy called on universities to rewrite their speech codes to include antisemitism and said university presidents should be fired not just for their testimony, but for failing to "embrace the true purpose of seeking knowledge as opposed to indoctrination."[39]
Drug policy
Ramaswamy described himself as "not a war on drugs person."[40] He was in favor of federally legalizing marijuana, calling it "a joke" that the drug is federally criminalized.[41] He was also in favor of decriminalizing ayahuasca and ketamine usage for military veterans suffering from PTSD, arguing that it would help combat the U.S. fentanyl epidemic and prevent veteran suicides.[42]
Economic policy
Ramaswamy endorsed ending the Federal Reserve's dual mandate to control inflation and minimize unemployment, saying the institution's mission should be limited to control inflation.[43]