Vivek Ramaswamy rose to the G.O.P. limelight in February 2023 as a brazen, cunning, and outspoken presidential candidate. Ramaswamy called his campaign “TRUTH” and has gained traction and support for his “no-nonsense” attitude toward political issues, especially after a series of debates in which he leaned into a combative, showboating persona.
And yet, for someone who claims to root their campaign in honesty, Ramaswamy’s campaign is teeming with contradictions and a blatant disregard for political reality—both in the United States and abroad. Ramaswamy makes bold, unrealistic claims that simultaneously bolster support for his candidacy while capitalizing on a lack of public knowledge about international relations and global politics. Like the Disney princesses he claims are “woke,” Ramaswamy acts like he has a magical fairy dust that he can simply sprinkle around to make his fantastical policies come true.
Ramaswamy’s promise to “freeze” the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is riddled with ignorance. What makes Ramaswamy think he has the authority to tell the Ukranian people when to compromise, or that he has the power to stop a tyrannical leader like Putin in his thirst for conquest? Ramaswamy disregards a decade of evolving conflict between Russia and Ukraine to provide an oversimplified band-aid to a complex issue. He delivers this plan with a smirk that makes it seem as if he can snap his finger and accomplish this promise, when it is simply impossible to just put a pin in the war.
Ramaswamy claims that if elected, he would fire at least half of the federal work force, arguing that civil service protections for federal workers are unconstitutional. Ramaswamy not only disregards how he would complete such a task, but is ignorant of the cataclysmic effects firing over a million federal workers would have on the economy, including increased unemployment rates, reduced consumer spending, or even the kickstarting of a recession.
Ramaswamy glosses over how he will achieve his ambitious initiatives, using his brazen, unchecked confidence as a hollow guarantee that these goals will be completed despite their impossibility. Not dissimilar to a former real estate mogul whose wild claims catapulted him to the presidency, and then were almost entirely not enacted.
Ironically, at the same time that Ramaswamy exploits gaps in the public knowledge to generate support for his campaign, he claims that young people lack knowledge about the way their government works, and need to either be educated about civics, or disenfranchised.
In a tweet earlier this year, Ramaswamy revealed, “I’m announcing my support for a constitutional amendment to raise the voting age from 18 to 25, but to still allow 18-year-olds to vote if they either pass the same civics test required of immigrants to become naturalized citizens, or else to perform 6 months of military or first responder service.”
Ramaswamy claims that young people lack knowledge in civics to make the assertion that they should not be able to vote unless educated. He chastises young people for allegedly not knowing enough about their own government system to participate in the democratic process.
It is no wonder that he wants to make it harder for young people to vote – we endanger his victory! According to a poll conducted by Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life, 65 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 25 voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election.
If elected, Ramaswamy will push for legislation that will undermine the political goals of many young voters. Despite calling TikTok a “digital fentanyl” that endangers the American people in a town hall meeting in Okoboji, Iowa on September 20th, Ramasamy joined the platform just five days later. Responding to a comment that asked his opinion on climate change, Ramaswamy claimed that although “global surface temperatures are going up” they are not an “existential risk for humanity,” and because “eight times as many people die of cold temperatures rather than warm ones, the right answer to all climate related deaths is more access to fossil fuels.” Ramaswamy’s ignorance that climate change is a threat to humanity and his claim that climate change is essentially the entire answer to rising global temperatures will inevitably turn away young voters.
Ramaswamy knows that he cannot secure the support of these young voters; instead, he pushes to disenfranchise them and cut their voices out entirely from the civic discussion unless they jump through hoops he strategically created. Raising the minimum voting age to 25 undermines the foundation of democracy – an equal voice for all – and dismisses the valid ideas and arguments that young people bring to the political landscape. Many challenges facing our society today, such as climate change and gun control, directly impact younger generations. Young people have every right to choose policies and leaders that will shape their futures.
Despite his blatant ignorance of political reality in the United States and abroad, a staggering portion of Republican voters have hailed Ramaswamy as the undeniable winner of the first G.O.P debate, and it’s easy to understand why. Ramaswamy bulldozed his way into the debate’s limelight by spewing climate change denialism, defending gun laws, intensely venerating Trump, and asserting his stance of isolationism towards Ukraine. Ramaswamy is a meritocratic puppet that pushes on buttons that make Republicans frenzy. Taking a page right out of Trump’s book, Ramaswamy hijacks debates with ideas that challenge the Republican political status quo. During the second debate Ramaswamy spoke the most, for over 12 minutes, interrupting other candidates while flashing a radiant smile. His rhetoric is provocative and bold, appealing to voters who want clear-cut answers to complex issues, even if his claims are unsupported – or simply impossible!
Ramaswamy positions himself as truth-teller who “is the only person on the stage that isn’t bought and paid for.” He portrays himself as rebel coming down on a golden chariot to reinstate the holy meritocracy—all while punching ‘woke capitalism’ and climate change advocates in the mouth.
Yet, as his claims and promises are dissected, it becomes blatantly clear that Ramaswamy is simply a master of manipulation who uses his indestructible-seeming confidence and the public’s blind spots to win support.
