Surging GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by saying his campaign is run by donors.
Why was @VivekGRamaswamy the only candidate emphatically opposing more funding & weapons for Ukraine—despite deep opposition from GOP voters?
Vivek believes the donor class has a moral-superiority complex around Ukraine—& most politicians are simply puppets for their interests. pic.twitter.com/PRQhj6i3AA
— System Update (@SystemUpdate_) August 25, 2023
“The donor class of the Republican Party fundamentally disapproves of the message that I delivered on that stage,” Ramaswamy told journalist Glenn Greenwald. “It’s the one thing that’s holding Ron DeSantis back. Right — cause his campaign is run by his Super PAC — which is extremely well funded.”
Ramaswamy’s shot took aim at DeSantis, the only candidate on Wednesday night’s debate stage polling higher than him. Despite Ramaswamy’s assertion that this is a “two horse race between Trump and myself,” DeSantis is polling nationally at 14 percent, compared to Ramaswamy’s 7.1 percent. Both candidates lag significantly behind frontrunner former President Donald Trump, who is polling at 56 percent nationally, per the RCP average.
Though the focus of that particular criticism was on his closest opponent, Vivek did not hold back on anyone, saying, “the rest of the field, as I said on the stage and made a lot of people mad, is bought and paid for by the donor class.” (RELATED: Ramaswamy Says His Debate Performance ‘Exceeded Even My Own Expectations’)
Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and businessman, was a relative unknown going into Wednesday night’s debate, though his campaign was picking up steam in the weeks leading up to the Milwaukee square-off. His debate performance however, led Trump to declare him Wednesday night’s winner on Truth Social. Ramaswamy also piqued the nation’s curiosity as his Google Trends “peak popularity” data beat out all other candidates.