Indian-origin entrepreneur and US presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was one of the main stars of the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 election cycle today. In the absence of former US President Donald Trump, who skipped the event, eight Republican candidates faced off for two hours in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Vivek Ramaswamy garnered a lot of attention, particularly for his comments on the Ukraine war, Donald Trump and climate change. The Indian-origin entrepreneur is running for public office for the first time and easily fends off barbs from his opponents.
While he is far behind Donald Trump in the polls, the 38-year-old managed to stand out in the first debate, emerging as one of the stars of the night. Mr Ramaswamy's comments were applauded by the audience several times as he literally took centre stage during the debate. Despite facing off against established candidates like Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, the 38-year-old managed to hold his own.
Mr Ramaswamy leans into his outsider tag
Taking a leaf out of Barack Obama's book, the 38-year-old introduced himself in a self-deprecating manner, drawing cheers from the crowd. “Let me just address a question that is on everybody's mind at home tonight. Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name?” he said. He also talked about how his parents moved to the United States and gave him the chance to establish billion-dollar companies.
What Vivek Ramaswamy said on the Russia-Ukraine war
Ramaswamy was the only candidate to oppose more funding for the war in Ukraine. He suggested that the United States should first put its own house in order. “I think this is disastrous that we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else's border when we should be using those same military resources to prevent the invasion of our own southern border here in the United States,” he said, receiving cheers from the audience. Ramaswamy also suggested that supporting a war in another country when the US itself had problems was “disastrous”.
Vivek Ramaswamy on climate change
The 38-year-old US presidential hopeful believes climate change to be a ‘hoax'. “The climate change agenda is a hoax … more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate,” the entrepreneur said, getting booed from the crowd for his words.
In his closing statement, Mr Ramaswamy reiterated his viewpoint, calling fossil fuels “a requirement for human prosperity.”
Donald Trump ‘was the best president of the 21st century': Mr Ramaswamy
Donald Trump was a point of contention at the GOP debate. Most candidates doubled down on their support for him, despite Mr Trump facing more than 90 criminal counts in separate lawsuits. Mr Ramaswamy has often stated that he will pardon Mr Trump if he is elected. In the debate, the Republican candidate once again praised Trump. “Let's just speak the truth. President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century. It's a fact,” Ramaswamy said.
Vivek Ramaswamy on the US education system
The candidate garnered a lot of applause with his call to “shut down the head of the snake, the Department of Education”. He pledged to end teachers' unions. Mr Ramaswamy also suggested civics tests for young voters.
The Republican Party will hold its second debate on September 27 in California's Simi Valley.
