Ramaswamy looked to distinguish himself from Trump this fall with conservative policy address
From CNN's Aaron Pellish and Daniel Strauss
In a September speech, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy laid out his policies, which showed he's looking to differentiate himself from former President Donald Trump, display his policy chops and establish himself as an authentic MAGA-aligned Republican candidate.
In a sharpening of his message toward the former president, whom he’s defended and praised since launching his campaign in February, he focused during the conservative police address on an issue he believes Trump failed to adequately address – shrinking the size of the federal government.
The positioning of this first-time candidate – and the way he’s now setting out his own ideas to prove he’s not a Trump acolyte – suggests his campaign is looking for staying power in the 2024 Republican primary still dominated by the former president.
The Ohio-based entrepreneur laid out in September the details of a policy to eliminate multiple federal agencies and implement mass layoffs of federal employees – part of his effort to set himself apart from other Republicans, including Trump, ahead of the next debate later this month.
“The people who we elect to run the government ought to be the ones who actually run the government, not the managerial bureaucracy and three letter government agencies,” he said.
Contrasting Trump’s record with his own proposals was a new tactic for Ramaswamy. He has resoundingly defended the Trump administration on several issues and the former president amidst criminal indictments in four different investigations. He has repeatedly pledged to pardon Trump of any federal charges on his first day in office, frequently denouncing Trump’s legal jeopardy as “political persecution by prosecution.” During a GOP debate, he called Trump “the greatest president of the 21st century.”
Ramaswamy's September speech at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded in 2021 by former Trump administration officials, gave the Republican candidate an opportunity to make the case for his conservative vision and how it might go further than Trump’s. The speech detailed what Ramaswamy’s campaign sees as the legal justification for his argument that the president has the authority to overhaul the structure of the federal government.
What to know about GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy
From CNN staff
Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on March 3 in National Harbor, Maryland. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Tech entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy launched his outsider campaign for the presidency in February 2023, focused on combatting “woke” ideology, exposing government corruption and ushering in a younger generation of voters into the Republican Party.
Ramaswamy, 38, is the youngest candidate in the GOP field. He found success in the private sector after founding Roivant Sciences, a biotechnology firm, before founding Strive Asset Management, an investment management firm that specialized in “anti-woke” asset management, refusing to consider environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, factors when investing. He is the author of “Woke Inc.” and “Nation of Victims.”
Ramaswamy grew up in Cincinnati, the son of Indian immigrants. A practicing Hindu, he attended a Catholic high school in Cincinnati before graduating from Harvard University with a biology degree and earning a law degree from Yale University. His wife, Apoorva, is a physician specializing in otolaryngology, and they have two sons.
GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will participate in a CNN town hall tonight at 9 p.m. ET from Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, less than five weeks until the state's Republican caucuses kick off the 2024 primary contests.
He will take questions from CNN moderator Abby Phillip, as well as a live audience of Iowa voters who say they intend to vote in the GOP caucuses on January 15.
The 38-year-old tech entrepreneur launched his outsider campaign in February focused on combatting “woke” ideology, expose government corruption and usher in a younger generation into the GOP. His campaign, however, has so far struggled to gain traction and break out in the thinning GOP primary.
In a September speech, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy laid out his policies, which showed he's looking to differentiate himself from former President Donald Trump, display his policy chops and establish himself as an authentic MAGA-aligned Republican candidate.
In a sharpening of his message toward the former president, whom he’s defended and praised since launching his campaign in February, he focused during the conservative police address on an issue he believes Trump failed to adequately address – shrinking the size of the federal government.
The positioning of this first-time candidate – and the way he’s now setting out his own ideas to prove he’s not a Trump acolyte – suggests his campaign is looking for staying power in the 2024 Republican primary still dominated by the former president.
The Ohio-based entrepreneur laid out in September the details of a policy to eliminate multiple federal agencies and implement mass layoffs of federal employees – part of his effort to set himself apart from other Republicans, including Trump, ahead of the next debate later this month.
“The people who we elect to run the government ought to be the ones who actually run the government, not the managerial bureaucracy and three letter government agencies,” he said.
Contrasting Trump’s record with his own proposals was a new tactic for Ramaswamy. He has resoundingly defended the Trump administration on several issues and the former president amidst criminal indictments in four different investigations. He has repeatedly pledged to pardon Trump of any federal charges on his first day in office, frequently denouncing Trump’s legal jeopardy as “political persecution by prosecution.” During a GOP debate, he called Trump “the greatest president of the 21st century.”
Ramaswamy's September speech at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded in 2021 by former Trump administration officials, gave the Republican candidate an opportunity to make the case for his conservative vision and how it might go further than Trump’s. The speech detailed what Ramaswamy’s campaign sees as the legal justification for his argument that the president has the authority to overhaul the structure of the federal government.
Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on March 3 in National Harbor, Maryland. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Tech entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy launched his outsider campaign for the presidency in February 2023, focused on combatting “woke” ideology, exposing government corruption and ushering in a younger generation of voters into the Republican Party.
Ramaswamy, 38, is the youngest candidate in the GOP field. He found success in the private sector after founding Roivant Sciences, a biotechnology firm, before founding Strive Asset Management, an investment management firm that specialized in “anti-woke” asset management, refusing to consider environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, factors when investing. He is the author of “Woke Inc.” and “Nation of Victims.”
Ramaswamy grew up in Cincinnati, the son of Indian immigrants. A practicing Hindu, he attended a Catholic high school in Cincinnati before graduating from Harvard University with a biology degree and earning a law degree from Yale University. His wife, Apoorva, is a physician specializing in otolaryngology, and they have two sons.
