Conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy surged on Google after the first GOP debate, reaching over 2 million searches in total searches and beating the other candidates on Google Trends.
Google Trends data shows Ramaswamy reached “peak polarity” at 11:20 p.m. Wednesday night, far exceeding searches for candidates. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump came in second place, despite Trump choosing to skip out on the Milwaukee debate to air an interview with Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson.
Screenshot/ Google Trends
The data represents “search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time,” with a number value of 100 attributed to “peak popularity” for the term.
Ramaswamy had an average of 19 in the past 24 hours. Trump and Haley averaged seven, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis averaged three.
The businessman painted himself as the anti-establishment, young and energetic candidate on the debate stage. He called for a “new generation” in leadership, and confidently declared his views on supporting Trump and not increasing Ukraine aid. Ramaswamy also called the climate change agenda a “hoax,” receiving boos from the audience.
Other candidates also sparred with Ramaswamy and brought him further into the spotlight.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie launched multiple attacks at Ramaswamy, calling him an “amateur,” saying that he “sounds like ChatGPT” and that his views on Trump don’t align with what he wrote in his book. (RELATED: Chris Christie Calls Ramaswamy An ‘Amateur’ Obama)
Pence also seemingly took veiled shots at Ramaswamy, saying, “We don’t need to bring in a rookie.”
Trump declared Ramaswamy to be the winner of the debate in a post on Truth Social.
“This answer gave Vivek Ramaswamy a big WIN in the debate because of a thing called TRUTH. Thank you Vivek!” Trump wrote.