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Following the first Republican presidential debate, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial viewpoints and characterizations of certain events are garnering both notoriety and support. In response to the heightened scrutiny, rival candidates are launching attacks on Ramaswamy’s campaign.
Straight Arrow News contributor Jordan Reid argues Ramaswamy’s far-right, inflammatory positions have found unexpected traction with both the media and former President Donald Trump’s supporters — and it’s making her nervous.
So beyond the obvious, the reason why this self-proclaimed, anti-woke candidate makes me nervous, is that people are responding to him. Immediately after the debate, his campaign received nearly half a million dollars in donations, and you only had to watch the crowd’s reaction to see that his shtick is working. He got the second most airtime of any candidate and his statements were met with just raucous cheers. In short, he’s taking up a lot of oxygen in the room.
Do I think he’ll beat Trump? No, of course not. But I think that Ramaswamy knows that too and that his long game is rather to join Trump’s cabinet, perhaps as his running mate, and use the position to jumpstart a second run. That is what worries me. A younger, even more far-right political neophyte, more interested in showboating than healing, is the last kind of leader this country needs.
