The excitement among Iowa’s Republican state legislators was palpable; Vivek Ramaswamy, ESG skeptic and 2024 presidential hopeful, had come to the Iowa State Capitol to speak to them on Feb. 23.
Like other probable 2024 contenders who have visited the state, the Indian-American entrepreneur and author of “Woke, Inc.” praised the state’s new universal school choice bill.
“There has never been a time in I think the last century—and I don’t think there will be a time in our lifetime again—when state legislatures can actually play the leading role in a national revival,” he told a roomful of lawmakers, standing at the head of a long table.
Even as Ramaswamy meets and greets sympathetic audiences, he finds himself the focus of vocal criticism, including from those in former President Donald Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) camp.
Why Ramaswamy?
First, the big question for Republican voters: why should they support Ramaswamy over Trump, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, or anyone else?“2023 should be about the ‘what’ and the ‘why.’ The question of ‘who’ comes in 2024,” Ramaswamy told The Epoch Times. He added that he felt he could help define Republicans’ agenda this year.
“I don’t see other candidates stepping up and offering a vision of national identity in the way that I am. That’s what compels me to join this race,” he continued.
“I respect a lot of what President Trump did. He acknowledged problems in this country on both sides of the aisle that no one else had acknowledged before him. The question is where we go from here.”
Ramaswamy calls his vision “America First 2.0.”
“End affirmative action”; “Abandon climate religion”; “Total decoupling from China”; “8-year limits for all federal bureaucrats”; “Say NO to central bank digital currencies”; “Release the ’state action' files.”
What about the core planks in America First 1.0?
“There are other important policies,” he added, “but this is what America First means.”
In his Feb. 23 interview with The Epoch Times, Ramaswamy described himself as a “hardliner on illegal immigration” and chaos at the southern border.
He’s said he wants the U.S. military to target the cartels.
When it comes to legal immigration, Ramaswamy spoke of merit without mentioning numbers—that is, whether today’s influx of legally admitted new Americans is too high, not high enough, or just right.
“I think we should have an unapologetic points-based system for who gets into America,” he told The Epoch Times.
Points-based systems are used by Canada and some other anglophone countries.
“That’s not racist. It’s not discriminatory. It’s just what putting America First means—pick the immigrants who are going to make the greatest contributions to this country, who are loyal to this country, who want to be part of this country.”
He took pains to emphasize that “merit” doesn’t just mean, say, possession of a Ph.D. Patriotism would enter into any assessment, according to Ramaswamy.
The foreign policy plank of “America First 1.0” came after decades of U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
By 2016, Americans across the political spectrum were sick of “forever wars.”
Not all Republicans vying for the presidency share that peace-mongering perspective.
In a Feb. 20 speech outside Des Moines, Haley described the Ukraine conflict as a “fight for freedom” and “a war we have to win,” confirming her support for continued U.S. backing of Ukraine through the supply of military equipment.
Ramaswamy, by contrast, doesn’t think the United States should keep spending money on the conflict. He argues that China is the bigger threat–hence his push for a rapid decoupling from it.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Ramaswamy for more on his views of trade policy, which Posobiec described as another key prong of “America First.”
Ramaswamy said we would enforce an end to affirmative action by enforcing civil rights law through the Department of Justice.
He thinks that would help him overcome the deep institutional opposition to ending affirmative action among left-wing and liberal factions in government, media, academia, and other power centers.
That concerted resistance has undermined previous efforts to end affirmative action—for example, in the University of California system.
World Economic Forum and the Soros Family
Some of Ramaswamy’s opponents claim he’s aligned with the World Economic Forum.They cite the fact that he previously appeared on their website as a Young Global Leader for 2021.
“Let me say it unapologetically—there are no ties to the World Economic Forum, other than me rejecting, repeatedly rejecting, their invitation for me to join their Young Global Leaders,” Ramaswamy told The Epoch Times.
He says the organization used his name without his consent.
“That shows you how deviously they play this game,” he added.
“I will challenge anyone in this country to find one greater opponent who has both been vocal and done something about it in the market to take on the World Economic Forum’s globalist agenda.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the World Economic Forum for comment.
Ramaswamy’s opponents have also raised the issue of his ties to the Soros family, led by international currency speculator George Soros.
In his interview with The Epoch Times, Ramaswamy was unapologetic about the fellowship, saying it was a smart move on his part as an ambitious 25-year-old. He also pointed out that Paul Soros and George Soros aren’t the same person.
‘America First 2.0’ On Tour
Ramaswamy’s visit to the Iowa State Capitol is one early stop on the road to 2024, when the Iowa caucus will lead Republicans’ electoral calendar.After announcing his run on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” he quickly took to the road to pitch “MAGA 2.0.”
The whirlwind trip started in New Hampshire on Feb. 22 and took him to Iowa on Feb. 23.
Ramaswamy attended a Republican women’s lunch in Bettendorf, along the Mississippi River, as well as other events in Greater Des Moines.
On the ground in Iowa, his team includes a very familiar face—Kathy Barnette, a MAGA favorite who lost to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Republican primary for the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race.
