Trump 2.0
Is Vikek Ramaswamy the New Conservative Sensation?
By Spencer A. Backman, Copy Editor
Is Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican millennial presidential candidate, the new champion of the conservative movement?
Ramaswamy, an Indian American, is an Ivy-League educated, biotech startup founder from Cincinnati, Ohio. His background is in business, he has only voted twice and has never held public office.
Nonetheless, he is running as a Republican alterantive to former president and 2024 opponent Donald Trump and is calling his platform America First 2.0.
“I think we need to stop running from something and start running to something as a conservative movement,” said Ramaswamy.
In a video on his website, Ramaswamy discusses how the Republican party needs new leadership. He has asserted that Trump is focused on vengeance and grievances while he could further the America First vision. Ramaswamy’s campaign is built on the notion that Trump’s America First policies fell short and that he could take them further.
“Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name and what the heck is he doing in the middle of this debate stage,” said Ramaswamy in his opening remarks in the first Republican debate.
That quotation elicited memories of former President Barack Obama in his 2004 keynote address to the Democratic National Convention: “The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.”
Both campaigns actively sought to position themselves as the next generation of American politics. Obama went on to win the 2008 Democratic party nomination and later the general election. However, unlike the former president, Ramaswamy’s struggling to gain widespread approval and is polling at under 10%.
“It’ll be really interesting to see how the media reacts to him and all of the other candidates as time goes on,” said Sydney Burke, a Lynn senior. “One of these candidates…is going to be the Republican nominee.”
Ramaswamy has gotten a lot of media attention but would have to catch a few breaks to win the nomination. Trump has been polling at around 50%, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the low 20s. Both DeSantis and Ramaswamy are vying to be the next generation of America First, but both are considered unlikely to prevail given Trump’s popularity and steadfast base.
Editor’s note: The lead sentence was changed to a question from a statement. This article is not meant to imply that Vivek Ramaswamy is the next Donald Trump. Rather, it is only meant to examine similarities between the two candidates. iPulse does not endorse any political candidate.
