It’s none of my business what presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy does with his life, although I have spent time with him and happen to like him.
Nevertheless, a lot of evanescent digital ink is being spilled over Mr. Ramaswamy’s announcement on X that he’s suspending his TV advertising where he has spent many millions, much of it from his own account.
“Presidential TV ad spending is idiotic, low-ROI [return on investment] & a trick that political consultants use to bamboozle candidates who suffer from low IQ.”
In fact, as I have written, those political consultants are the bête noire of American politics, inflating the cost of running beyond our wildest imaginations, usually for their own profit, while simultaneously dumbing down the conversation (aka the “messaging”) to a series of purposefully mind-numbing clichés.
Mr. Ramaswamy’s press secretary Tricia McLaughlin explained the approach to NBC News:
“We are focused on bringing out the voters we’ve identified—best way to reach them is using addressable advertising, mail, text, live calls and doors to communicate with our voters on Vivek’s vision for America, making their plan to caucus and turning them out.”
Mr. Ramaswamy has been paying his person-to-person dues in Iowa. By the Jan. 15 caucus, he will have done the “Full Grassley” (campaigning in all 99 Iowa counties) twice.
But this doesn’t prevent some from interpreting his no-TV announcement as the equivalent of throwing in the towel—or at least keeping some of his abundant cash should he not perform well enough in the early caucus and primary states.
Still hovering in the single digits in the polling, short of a miracle, that looks to be the case.
At the outset, his campaign seemed to be taking off, but, perhaps due to inexperience, he got ahead of himself and started to look unnecessarily erratic.
Lately, however, he has been making something of a comeback. The supposedly trendy Daily Beast thinks otherwise.
Their Mark Alfred writes: “[Ramaswamy] has leaned into conspiracy theories in recent weeks, claiming the Jan. 6 Capitol riot looks like ‘an inside job,’ and touting the Great Replacement Theory.”
Conspiracy theories?
I guess Mr. Alfred missed the myriad times that FBI Director Christopher Wray evaded congressional questions on FBI or other government infiltration on Jan. 6, not to mention all the other suspicious evidence of unknown figures urging demonstrators into the Capitol.
Further, he offers no possible explanation to replace the Great Replacement Theory that would explain why millions upon millions of illegal aliens—including drug dealers, child traffickers, and jihadists—have been allowed into the USA unvetted during the Biden administration from more than 150 countries, a fair number of which are our enemies.
Vivek having the courage to point these things out is the reason many of us admire him and see his great potential. Of all the ... shall we call them also-ran ... candidates, he has run the most interesting and original campaign.
Which leads me to my free advice.
Mr. Ramaswamy has said he has no interest in serving in a Trump administration.
I have no insight into whether this is entirely true or whether it is just the pro forma statement one makes, as many have, during the heat of a campaign.
In the real world, I don’t think 45 is likely to pick Vivek for his vice president. He doesn’t add much to the ticket that Trump doesn’t have, and the former president has already indicated his preference for a woman, not that it’s written in stone.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Ramaswamy is offered a position in the Trump cabinet.
In fact, without the slightest inside knowledge, I would bet on it.
If the job is decent—and I further suspect it would be—I would urge Mr. Ramaswamy to take it.
If he performs well, he will likely become the heir apparent to MAGA and, with a modicum of luck, an odds-on favorite for the presidency in 2028.
If he rejects the job in favor of more entrepreneurship, something at which he has already proven himself, he won’t fade into obscurity; however, he will look less serious about his political ambitions and desire to help this country, not having been willing to take an apprenticeship position at the highest level.
As the great Yogi Berra famously said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
In other words, forget what you have promised, Vivek. No one will remember ... or care. Take the job.
We’re rooting for you.
