Vivek Ramaswamy

[[File:Vramaswamy americafest 2022.jpg|thumb|165px|Ramaswamy.]]
{{uspolitics}}
{{cquote|And my question for you is, of all the Democratic candidates out there, why should I vote for the one with the least political experience?|||Ramaswamy in 2003, asking [[2004 U.S. presidential election|2004]] [[Democrat]]ic presidential candidate [[Al Sharpton]].<ref>[https://www.mediaite.com/politics/20-year-old-clip-of-ramaswamy-resurfaces-in-which-he-asks-presidential-candidate-why-should-i-vote-for-the-one-with-the-least-political-experience/ 20-Year-Old Clip Of Ramaswamy Resurfaces In Which He Asks Presidential Candidate, ‘Why Should I Vote For the One With the Least Political Experience?’]</ref>}}
'''Vivek "It Rhymes With Cake" Ganapathy Ramaswamy''' {{lived|1985}} is an [[United States|American]] fraudulent businessman,<ref name=nunberg>[https://www.newsweek.com/vivek-ramaswamy-fraud-always-has-been-opinion-1823853 Vivek Ramaswamy Is a Fraud—and Always Has Been] by Sam Nunberg (9/1/23 at 2:12 PM EDT ) ''Newsweek''.</ref> [[alt-lite]] [[edgelord]],<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/vivek-ramaswamy-was-created-in-a-right-wing-edgelord-factory Vivek Ramaswamy Was Created in a Right-Wing Online Edgelord Factory: The Milo Yiannopoulos-ization of the American right has found its vessel in the shameless, motor-mouthed, conspiracy theory-spouting, millionaire jerk.] by Matt Lewis (Nov. 09, 2023 1:20PM EST) ''Daily Beast''.</ref> and failed [[President of the United States|presidential]] candidate.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/us/politics/vivek-ramaswamy-presidential-candidate-2024.html A Wealthy ‘Anti-Woke’ Activist Joins the 2024 Presidential Field]</ref>

He’s well known for being an unoriginal and uninspiring Republican politician with always repeating platitudes, such as him decrying [[climate change]] as “a hoax” and any attempts to fix climate change as “climatism”.<ref>https://heated.world/p/how-vivek-ramaswamy-makes-money-from</ref> He's also a liar and a hypocrite (more on that below).

==Background and alleged fraud==
In his businessman days, he co-founded an "anti-[[woke]]" company called [[Peter Thiel#Strive Asset Management|Strive Asset Management]], a Columbus, Ohio-based asset management firm. The firm raised about $20 million from outside investors including [[Peter Thiel]], [[J. D. Vance]], and Bill Ackman.<ref name="vivekforbes"/> The firm is notable for its attempts at grifting pension funds run by [[Republican]] states into investing his "anti-woke" Strive funds (which naturally are ''much'' more expensive to hold than typical investment vehicles).<ref>[https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/03/02/the-anti-esg-industry-is-taking-investors-for-a-ride "The anti-ESG industry is taking investors for a ride"], Economist, 2023 March 2</ref><ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobeccles/2022/07/05/grift-capitalism-the-gops-brilliant-strategy-for-ripping-off-ordinary-americans/?sh=7e26e3962175 "Grift Capitalism: The GOP’s Brilliant Strategy For Ripping Off Ordinary Americans"] by Robert G. Ecclse, Forbes, 2022 July 5</ref>

Ramaswamy's previous job was as the founder and CEO of {{wpl|Roivant Sciences||.}} Under his tenure, a spin-off of the company, Axovant Sciences, acquired an Alzheimer drug ({{wpl|intepirdine}}), which studies run prior to the acquisition had previously shown that it didn't fucking work.<ref name=nunberg/><ref name="vivekforbes">John Hyatt (August 21, 2023). [https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2023/08/21/how-vivek-ramaswamy-became-a-billionaire/ "How Vivek Ramaswamy Became A Billionaire"]. ''Forbes''.</ref> That didn't matter to Ramaswamy — he simply conjured up a new round of {{wpl|Phases of clinical research|Phase 2}} trials [[nepotism|run by his mother]], and [[Pump and dump|pumped up]] the drug on the business cable network {{wpl|CNBC}} to coincide with an {{wpl|Initial public offering|IPO}} of Axovant. Predictably, Axovant's IPO was triumphant, and the company was worth $350 million at its peak. Of course, after the Phase 2 trial run by his mom ''also'' showed that intepirdine ''still'' didn't fucking work, Axovant lost 99% of its value.<ref name=nunberg/>

Over his pre-presidential business career, Ramaswamy has pulled multiple other investment stunts like the above. Because of this, critics have gone as far to accuse him of earning his fortune via multiple brazen [[pump and dump]] schemes.<ref>[https://fortune.com/2023/08/31/smoke-mirrors-debate-vivek-ramaswamy-2-year-diversionary-tactics-business-commentary-sonnenfeld/ "Smoke and mirrors: I’ve been debating Vivek Ramaswamy for 2 years. Here’s how I got past his diversionary tactics"] by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 2023 August 31</ref>

==His weird relationships with Jews==
In 2011, Ramaswamy was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, which enabled him to attend Yale Law School.<ref>[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vivek-ramaswamy-wikipedia-revisions-comment_n_6453cc52e4b00eb7e63a0057 Vivek Ramaswamy Campaign Insists Wikipedia Revisions Weren’t A ‘Scrub’: Senior adviser Tricia McLaughlin told HuffPost, "All of this information is Googleable."] by David Moye (May 4, 2023, 01:00 PM EDT) ''HuffPost''.</ref> This information was deleted and restored from [[Wikipedia]], and considered by Wikipedia editors to be whitewashing by an editor paid by the Ramaswamy presidential campaign.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Vivek_Ramaswamy#paid_editor_tag? Talk:Vivek Ramaswamy#paid editor tag?] (August 2023) ''Wikipedia''.</ref> While at Yale, Ramaswamy joined a [[Jewish]] [[secret society]], Shabtai,<ref name=martin>[https://www.jns.org/us-news/vivek-ramaswamy/23/7/31/306696/ Ramaswamy: ‘I want to go even further than Trump on the Abraham Accords’: The entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate also told JNS that far-left ideology has caused rising antisemitism.] by Bradley Martin (July 31, 2023) ''Jewish News Syndicate''.</ref> which is open to people of other religions.<ref>{{wpa|Shabtai}}</ref> These two facts alone ([[George Soros]] money and belonging to a Jewish secret society) would normally set off alarm bells in the [[far-right]] elements of the GOP: [[QAnon]], [[conspiracy theorists]], and other antisemites.

To his credit, Ramaswamy has spoken out against [[antisemitism]],<ref name=martin/> but on the other hand, he has baselessly accused (Jewish) Ukrainian President [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]] of mistreating Jews, has strongly attacked a Florida law that penalizes antisemitic acts (passed by Governor [[Ron DeSantis]]), and wants to repeal US Executive Order 11246 that bans "federal contractors from engaging in employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, or national origin."<ref name=lapin>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/6-jewish-facts-about-gop-hopeful-vivek-ramaswamy-who-proposed-cut-to-israel-funding/ 6 Jewish facts about GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, who proposes cut to Israel funding: Biotech mogul and would-be presidential candidate panned Florida law against antisemitism, was in Jewish society at Yale, and suggested Ukraine’s Zelensky is mistreating Jews] by Andrew Lapin (23 August 2023, 10:39 am) ''The Times of Israel''.</ref> Ramaswamy wants to end financial aid to [[Israel]] by 2028, imagining that it will be unnecessary by then, presumably because there will miraculously be peace in the Middle East. Ramaswamy also wants to end humanitarian aid to [[Palestinians]] (which raises ''interesting'' questions about [[Genocide|what he thinks]] [[Ethnic cleansing|"peace in the Middle East" means]]).<ref name=lapin/> 

==Highlights of his campaign==
*His [[Hindu]] background has caused many on the Christian nationalist right to not want to support him,<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/vivek-ramaswamy-religion-under-attack-christian-nationalists-1234796575/ Vivek Ramaswamy Is On the Rise. So Are Christian Nationalist Attacks on His Religion]</ref> despite him also constantly trying to court those exact voters with his appeals to claims of "Judeo-Christian values".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/09/us/vivek-ramaswamy-hindu-republican-christianj.html Vivek Ramaswamy Leans Into His Hindu Faith to Court Christian Voters]</ref> (Gee, it's like nationalists [[Xenophobia|only like people who match their own ethnicity]] or something.)
*He paid [[Wikipedia]] editors<ref>See the {{wpl|Talk:Vivek_Ramaswamy|Wikipedia talk page on its article on him|,}} which mentions more than one paid editor.</ref> to edit his page specifically to remove his connections to [[George Soros]] and his role in the [[Ohio]] [[COVID-19]] Response Team.<ref>[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vivek-ramaswamy-wikipedia-editor_n_6452957de4b029f56a146123 Vivek Ramaswamy Paid To Get Soros Connection Erased From Wikipedia Page: Report]</ref>
*He has called for the repealing of the twenty-sixth Amendment to the [[U.S. Constitution|Constitution]] and the raising of the voting age to twenty-five.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/10/ramaswamy-raise-voting-age-00096266 Vivek Ramaswamy wants to raise the voting age. Even his staff doesn’t like the idea.]</ref> Later he added the qualification that people between eighteen and twenty-four would be allowed to vote on the condition they're in the military, work as a first responder, or pass the civics test required for naturalization.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/vivek-ramaswamy-voting-age-2024-president-ea1429836e8f809fbf301b7b027f4ab9 Ramaswamy proposes raising voting age to 25, unless people serve in military or pass a test]</ref> It is pathetically obvious that he is calling for this because of the role young voters played in stopping the "red wave" of [[2022 midterm elections|2022]] that many on the right predicted.<ref>[https://www.brookings.edu/articles/midterm-exit-polls-show-that-young-voters-drove-democratic-resistance-to-the-red-wave/ Midterm exit polls show that young voters drove Democratic resistance to the ‘red wave’]</ref>
*He got banned from LinkedIn due to violating the website's policy on misinformation and [[hate speech]].<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/vivek-ramaswamy-linkedin-account-locked-misinformation-tech-companies-regulation-a5c71c4c Vivek Ramaswamy’s LinkedIn Lockout]</ref>
*He got called "Alex Jones 2.0" by [[Alex Jones]] himself,<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-calls-vivek-ramaswamy-alex-jones-20 Alex Jones calls Vivek Ramaswamy “Alex Jones 2.0”]</ref> who has also called him "a cross between [[Steven Crowder]] and Alex Jones.”<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/youtube-alex-jones-claims-vivek-ramaswamy-sounds-cross-between-steven-crowder-and-alex On YouTube, Alex Jones claims “Vivek Ramaswamy ... sounds like a cross between Steven Crowder and Alex Jones”]</ref>
*He got hit with a Cease and Desist from Eminem over using his song "Lose Yourself" at a campaign rally.<ref>[https://www.mediaite.com/entertainment/vivek-ramaswamy-hit-with-cease-and-desist-from-eminem/ Vivek Ramaswamy Hit With Cease and Desist From Eminem]</ref>
*On social media, he has been nickmaned "VivekGPT" in reference to [[ChatGPT]], with criticism of his "ever-shifting answers" as being reminiscent of the chatbot.<ref>"[https://www.dailydot.com/debug/vivek-ramaswamy-debate-republican-vivekgpt/ Vivek Ramaswamy dubbed ‘VivekGPT’ as critics highlight tech entrepreneur’s ever-shifting answers]", Marlon Ettinger, Aug 22, 2023, ''Daily Dot''</ref> This was obviously inspired by [[Chris Christie]] calling him "a guy who sounds like ChatGPT" in the first GOP primary debate.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNqk9bKnCjM "Chris Christie Compares Vivek Ramaswamy to ChatGPT & Obama"] ''NowThis News'', August 24, 2023.</ref>
*On the debate stage, he called the "[[climate change]] agenda" a "[[hoax]]", and claims that fossil fuels help humanity persevere. It’s no surprise that he’s paid off by big oil companies because of his use of their talking points.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/23/candidates-clash-over-climate-change-00112637 Vivek Ramaswamy calls climate change agenda a ‘hoax’ during debate], Kelly Garrity, ''Politico'' 23 August 2023</ref>
*He's repeatedly made gendered insults about women's physical appearances at the debate and at rallies.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/09/republican-debate-gender-attacks ‘Speaking as a man’: Gendered insults at Republican debate highlight a risky strategy: The 2024 Republican field has engaged in a round robin of gendered attacks that could backfire with suburban women and independent swing voters in a general election, strategists say] by Ashley Parker (November 9, 2023) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>
*He spent $30.7 million of his own money for only 93,126 votes in the primary, averaging $330/vote.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/15/senate-trone-funding/ David Trone and the history of candidates lighting their money on fire: The Maryland Senate candidate spent $62 million of his own money, only to lose the primary. But others have fared worse — at least on a dollars-per-vote basis.] by Aaron Blake (May 15, 2024 at 3:48 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Flip-flops==
Those who have followed Ramaswamy know that he cannot be bothered to keep any kind of consistent position. One rather telling example was when he called for the abolition of Juneteenth two months after posting a video of him celebrating it.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/vivek-ramaswamy-calls-juneteenth-useless-rcna98428 Vivek Ramaswamy calls Juneteenth 'useless' 2 months after posting a video celebrating it]</ref>

Another flip-flop comes in the form of his comments on [[2021 U.S. coup attempt|January 6th]]. Previously, he acknowledged it was [[Donald Trump]]'s fault for the actions of that day and praised [[Mike Pence]] for not attempting to overturn the election. Now, he believes Donald Trump was not responsible for the storming of the Capitol, and that Mike Pence didn't engage in a "historic opportunity."<ref>[https://www.mediaite.com/politics/flip-flop-vivek-ramaswamy-once-praised-mike-pence-for-his-actions-on-january-6-now-he-says-he-missed-a-historic-opportunity/ Flip Flop: Vivek Ramaswamy Once Praised Mike Pence For His Actions on January 6, Now He Says He ‘Missed’ A ‘Historic Opportunity’]</ref>

==Decline and humiliation==
After dropping out of the race and giving his support for Trump, Ramaswamy has attempted to cling on to relevance, mostly through his podcast “the truth podcast”. One of the most infamous episodes was when he had [[Ann Coulter]] on, and went mask off racist when she said “I wouldn’t vote for you, because you’re an Indian”. The clip was widely condemned by normal people and defended by Vivek”s fanbase. Critics of Vivek, including those on the left, accurately called him out on his claim that there was no racism in the Republican Party, a sentiment Vivek himself even vaguely agreed with on Patrick Bet David’s podcast.<ref>[https://medium.com/the-polis/vivek-ramaswamy-ann-coulter-disrespectful-behavior-and-the-blatant-obscene-politics-of-the-46c8aeeebf9a Vivek Ramaswamy, Ann Coulter , Disrespectful Behavior and the Blatant, Obscene Politics of the Republican Right Wing!] Medium</ref>

==Possible cult of personality==
Though Vivek is ostensibly part of the [[Trumpism|MAGA movement]], he has gained a separate following and cult of personality amongst himself composed entirely of his own supporters. Like with Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson and many other similar far-right figures, Vivek has people who constantly lick and kiss his ass and spam comments on sites like YouTube and claim that Vivek wins every debate, deflect criticism, and claim that everyone who criticizes him are cancelling him and attempting to shut him down because they fear him.<ref>[https://emorywheel.com/vivek-ramaswamys-charisma-is-nonsensical-and-dangerous/ Vivek Ramaswamy’s charisma is nonsensical and dangerous] The Emory Wheel</ref>

==Stopped clock==
Ramaswamy has refused to give into the typical Republican framing on the estate tax, instead viewing it as a good way to stop a "hereditary aristocracy" from forming through parents passing excessive wealth to their children.<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/vivek-ramaswamys-rise-in-2024-field-brings-scrutiny-beyond-anti-woke-record-88a5b635 Vivek Ramaswamy’s Rise in 2024 Field Brings Scrutiny Beyond Anti-Woke Record]</ref> He also slammed “[[Dick Cheney|fascist neocons]]” for sending troops to die in pointless wars of Iraq and Afghanistan (albeit he mentioned it in the context of not sending aid to Ukraine).<ref>[https://www.livemint.com/news/world/fascist-neocon-with-lipstick-vivek-ramaswamy-attacks-nikki-haley-as-republican-debate-turns-shoutoff/amp-11701958287458.html 'Fascist neocon with lipstick': Vivek Ramaswamy attacks Nikki Haley as Republican debate turns into 'shout-off'] LiveMint</ref>

Ramaswamy has called for the federal legalization of [[marijuana]],<ref>[https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/23/08/33974040/vivek-ramaswamy-tells-bill-maher-its-a-joke-that-cannabis-is-not-legal-nationwide Vivek Ramaswamy Tells Bill Maher 'It's A Joke' That Cannabis Is Not Legal Nationwide]</ref> along with the decriminalization of certain [[drug]]s that have been shown to help veterans who suffer from PTSD.<ref>[https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/23/08/33868708/trump-opponent-vivek-ramaswamy-favors-federal-marijuana-legalization-is-polling-third-behind-ron Trump Opponent Vivek Ramaswamy Favors Federal Marijuana Legalization, Is Polling Third Behind Ron DeSantis]</ref>

Ramaswamy has also stated that America should not continue delivering aid to Israel, although he later walked back on this stance after being mocked by neoconservative Republicans. He also opposes American military action against Iran.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2023-08-31/ty-article/.premium/vivek-ramaswamy-in-favor-of-ending-israel-aid-opposes-u-s-military-force-against-iran/0000018a-4cb6-d775-a79a-5db7ae130000 Vivek Ramaswamy, in Favor of Ending Israel Aid, Opposes U.S. Military Force Against Iran] Haaretz</ref>

==See also==
*[[Donald Trump]] - His 
lord and savior
 idol and inspiration.
*[[Ron DeSantis]] - His opponent and fellow Trump sycophant.
*[[Patrick Bet-David]] - another right-wing immigrant grifter

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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