“I’m not pledging allegiance to your new religion of modern wokeism,” Vivek Ramaswamy replied to an aggressive Washington Post reporter who asked him to condemn white supremacy.
“Do I condemn vicious racial discrimination? Yes, I do. Am I gonna play your silly game of gotcha? No, I’m not,” the GOP presidential candidate reported.
The Post reporter then followed up with a post on Twitter that read, “He said he condemns ‘vicious racial discrimination’ but would not ‘bend the knee’ and condemn white supremacy.'” The tweet was then community noted and heavily ratioed as Ramaswamy’s response to her went viral.
Ramaswamy’s exchange with the Washington Post reporter is not his first time at the viral rodeo. As a candidate, he has been in the limelight on numerous occasions this election season, most of them coming from his Republican primary debate performances.
In addition, many significant conservative personalities have been supportive of Ramaswamy’s campaign, including Jack Posobiec, Benny Johnson, Scott Adams, Jason Whitlock, the Hodgetwins, and more. Moreover, Ramaswamy has been invited to big-table discussions like Elon Musk’s live announcement of Alex Jones’ return to Twitter.
No other candidate has seen Ramaswamy ‘s success online — not even close. Evidently Elon Musk and many others see Ramaswamy as a down-to-earth guy who is sharp, concise, and capable as a candidate. This simply is not the case for any other Republicans running against Trump. The polls, however, tell a very different story.
Ten days out from the Iowa caucus, Ramaswamy is currently hovering around five percent nationally and six percent in Iowa. He trails both Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, who are sitting at eleven and ten percent respectfully. Shockingly, Ramaswamy is only one point ahead of the ever-abysmal Chris Christie. But how is this possible? How could a candidate with so much national attention and praise perform so poorly in the polls?
Intentionally or not, Ramaswamy has simply not distinguished himself from Trump enough to sway the former president’s supporters to his side. But this might not be a terrible thing. With his “America First 2.0” vision, name recognition, and warm support from big names, Ramaswamy has positioned himself as the perfect vice president pick for Trump.
And it seems like Trump has been considering that possibility for a while.
When asked about Ramaswamy on Glenn Beck’s radio program in August, Trump responded, “He’s a very, very, very intelligent person. He’s got good energy, and he could be some form of something.”
“I tell you, I think he’d be very good,” Trump added.
And, in recent days, Ramaswamy has quietly become the bettors’ favorite for Trump’s VP pick. According to oddschecker.com, Ramaswamy currently sits at +720, while New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem trail him closely at +800.
So, what does all this mean? In line with his America 2.0 agenda, Ramaswamy could be accurately described as a “Trump 2.0.” He is a political outsider, an entrepreneur, and wants to torch huge swaths of the same administrative state for which Trump has such disdain.
Furthermore, Ramaswamy is just 38 years old, countering the criticism that Trump has received for being 77. With the reality of Trump’s age and many — including Tucker Carlson — expressing concern for Trump’s safety in 2024, it makes practical sense for Trump to choose a VP who will reliably carry forward his presidential agenda and do so effectively.
Based on all available evidence, Ramaswamy is the only candidate who displays strikingly similar policy positions to Trump, while also bringing unique talent and capability to a potential presidential ticket. Only time will tell what the former president will do, but Ramaswamy is positioned perfectly to become his vice presidential pick — and an excellent one at that.
Joe Staton works as a senior staffer in the Ohio Senate. He co-hosts and produces a weekly faith-centered podcast, True North, and writes for his substack, Publius.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.