Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at his caucus night time occasion on the Surety Hotel 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 Hotel on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and writer of “Woke, Inc.”, introduced Monday night time he’s suspending his presidential campaign.
“We did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight,” he stated.
Ramaswamy, who predicted to Axios in October a “solid 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 campaign path, Ramaswamy tried to emphasise “America First” insurance policies, a stance that has confirmed well-liked with supporters of Trump.
“I wouldn’t call myself a disciple of Donald Trump,” Ramaswamy told NPR final May. “I would embrace the label of ‘America First’ to point out that ‘America first’ is bigger than Donald Trump. It does not belong to Donald Trump.”
Ramaswamy stated his campaign was centered on bringing again a way of nationwide identification.
“I’m looking at a need in our country and a job that needs to be done that I see very few people stepping up to actually deliver, which is to answer what it even means to be an American today — to revive our missing national identity, especially in the next generation of Americans,” he stated.
His coverage proposals ranged from slicing the Federal Reserve workforce by not less than 90%, deporting American-born children of undocumented immigrants, and raising the voting age to 25.
As a vocal member of the “anti-woke” motion, the previous entrepreneur claimed his presidency would combat towards “woke” insurance policies.
But his campaign was additionally marked by his amplification of conspiracy theories — together with that the Jan. 6 rebellion on the U.S. Capitol was an “inside job“, the 2020 election was stolen, and his feedback that the “Great Replacement theory,” which has origins in white supremacist ideology, is a part of the Democratic Party’s platform.
His persona additionally drew criticism from his opponents. During a GOP debate, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley referred to as Ramaswamy “scum” after he commented on Haley’s parenting and introduced up her daughter. Haley additionally attacked Ramaswamy for his place on the warfare in Ukraine, saying, “You have no foreign policy experience and it shows.”
In one other debate, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie referred to as Ramaswamy “the most obnoxious blowhard in America.”
Before venturing into politics, Ramaswamy based his biotech and pharmaceutical firm, Roivant Sciences Ltd. In 2022, he based Strive Asset Management, an “anti-woke” index fund supplier.