Vivek Ramaswamy

The fake battle between the Democrats and Republicans is getting started for the Nov 2024 US presidential elections. This time on the Republican side we have a surprise candidate: a 38-year old, superbly educated, very successful, wealthy entrepreneur named Vivek Ramaswamy. Vivek2024.com.

Going by his name, I guess he’s a Tam Bram (Tamilian Brahmin).

I think Vivek is brilliant. He’s probably the sharpest, most ambitious, most capable, most deserving of high political office that I have ever come across. If he gets to be the president of the US, it will make the world better off. The man’s incredible.

Vivek’s rich, having founded and sold a multi-billion-dollar firm. He’s written a couple of books. He and  his wife Apoorva have two young boys. Now that he’s running for the GOP presidential nomination, he’s constantly on the campaign trail. He appears in several public events every day, traveling by bus or private plane. He is extremely articulate and talks not just in complete sentences but in full paragraphs.

His campaign is doing well. In a crowded GOP field, he has moved up to a solid 3rd place, ahead of former VP Mike Pence and other seasoned politicians with name recognition. Polls place Donald Trump in the lead with over 45 percent of Republican votes, followed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis at around 15 percent (and falling), and then we have Vivek at 10 percent (and rising.)

Trump is unbeatable and will surely be the Republican nominee for the November 2024 US presidential elections. He has a committed group of MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters who will never desert him. His unwavering support makes him the greatest danger the Democrats face.

Therefore, the Biden administration is doing all it can to make sure that Trump is not just disqualified to run for office but also sent to prison. Trump has been indicted three times already, and another indictment was handed down last night in Georgia which most likely names Trump in it.

My gut feeling is that the Biden crime syndicate will most likely throw Trump in prison before too long. If that happens, it will be fun to see what the MAGA people do. Will they vote for the next on the list — which is DeSantis as of now? One thing is for sure: if Trump is forced out of the 2024 election, he will not endorse DeSanctimonius (Trump’s nickname for the man) since there is no love lost between the two.

If Vivek gets to the top by beating DeSantis, will Trump endorse Vivek? He should, if he has any sense. Why? Because Vivek has made a public commitment that if he becomes president of the US, he’ll pardon Trump and take him on as his advisor.

So let’s talk about Vivek. Vivek just turned 38. He’s the youngest Republican to contest the US presidential elections. There are many firsts associated with him. He’s never held a political position. He is a total newbie. That could be in favor but it could also be against him because he’d be judged to be inexperienced — which he most certainly is.

That works in his favor too. He’s not a politician, a class that is held in the lowest regard. Another thing in his favor is that he’s young, not an octogenarian like his primary opponents Biden and Trump.

Vivek is a total unknown. He has no name recognition. That works against him, at least till he gains traction. Fortunately for him, he is rich enough to fund his own campaign until he gets a sufficient number of supporters. He already has around 70k individual contributors (that includes yours truly), a significant fraction of those are first-time donors to any Republican candidate. That’s very encouraging.

Vivek’s major handicap is that he is a committed Hindu. He does not make a secret of that. When the occasion arises, he boldly declares that he’s a Hindu. At the close of a recent NewsNation Townhall meeting held in Chicago, IL, the host asked Vivek if he had had a daughter (Vivek and his wife Apoorva have two very young sons) what would he have named her. Vivek said, “Lakshmi. In our religion, she is the goddess of prosperity.”

Americans are overwhelmingly Christians of various varieties. More than that, most Americans believe that the US is a “Christian” nation — which is arguably not so. It’s true that the majority of Americans adheres to Judeo-Christian values but it is not true that the US was founded on Christian values. Most of the Founding Fathers of the US were not Christians. At best most of them were deists. But let’s not get into that here.

As a matter of principle, I don’t vote. But Vivek has my support. He is one of the most intelligent, charismatic, energetic, driven, knowledgeable, academically qualified, and visionary people in the US today. In all likelihood he will not get the Republican nomination this time around but then he has many decades to get to be the first Indian American president.

I have a $100 bet with a friend PB. I bet that Vivek will not be on any ticket as the VP candidate. Even if Trump offers it to him, he would turn it down. I am willing to bet that by the end of the year, Vivek would beat DeSantis and move into second place. But of course, as long as Trump is not in jail, Trump will be the nominee. If Trump is taken out by the corrupt Biden administration, then I suppose someone else — not Vivek — will get it.

That’s it for now. Go check out Vivek2024.com and if you are a resident of the US, consider contributing $1 to his campaign.

Author: Atanu Dey

Economist. View all posts by Atanu Dey