The Curious MAGA Takedown of Vivek Ramaswamy
From the day he announced he was running for president, there has been an underlying current of distrust toward Vivek Ramaswamy from vocal elements inside the MAGA base. Over the last few days, smoldering uneasiness that apparently bubbled below the surface erupted when President Trump made this post on Truth Social:
Considering the relative respect between Trump and Ramaswamy that characterized their relationship up to this point, the post seemed strange, and I still can’t understand the motivation behind it. As expected, Ramaswamy refused to take the bait, and instead, he issued a conciliatory response on X.
Apparently still looking to brawl, Trump opened an all-caps barrage on Ramaswamy:
So, what the hell is going on here?
There seems to be two schools of thought from those who have doubts about Ramaswamy. First, there are those who believe he’s a Trojan horse candidate sent to infiltrate MAGA and undermine Trump. These posts on X and Truth reflect that attitude:
The second group of doubters is more thoughtful but still cautious. These misgivings are expressed quite clearly by my respected colleague Jeff LeJeune in a recent article on rvivr.com:
Vivek may be starting to show the true reason he has been all aboard with Trump. If the system is in fact broken as he says, and it is, he is not the one to fix it. He is not the one to go up against the powerful Deep State. He never was. Brilliant campaign idea, but I don’t trust it. It reeks of political gamesmanship. He needs to continue to work for America First as a proxy for Trump. That is why American First folks were tolerating him all along in the first place. It’s not like his poll numbers were overtaking Trump’s. That was and is never going to happen.
Remember the last smooth-talking candidate we had suddenly burst upon the scene back in 2008, and another well-spoken gentleman back in 1992. Epstein knows them both well.
Admittedly, all the conservative talking heads, both recognizable and non, are pretty much split on this candidate. At the very least, be careful with him. Keep yourself open to the conversation, especially the binary trap, either-or reasoning, where he is simply the antithesis of Nikki Haley and by extension must be good. That’s dangerous thinking. Combine prayer with your evaluation.
LeJeune presents a thought provoking take that deserves serious contemplation.
Could Trump be Disqualified in 2024?
The recent blowback against Ramaswamy stems from the idea he is trying to stoke fear among the MAGA base by outlining a scenario where Trump is disqualified from running for president in 2024, and Republicans are left with Bush clone Nikki Haley by default.
The most important question is whether that plotline is realistic, and exactly what would follow if it happened?
Let’s acknowledge the reality that Trump is facing 91 felony charges that carry a potential for hundreds of years in prison. While expert opinions are all over the legal landscape on how Trump’s problems will play out, whether a conviction would lead to disqualification or a significant loss of support for Trump is an open question. For some reason, many MAGA supporters won’t even entertain such a possibility. When asked what exactly would happen if Trump was disqualified, they shrug or get glassy eyed. They cling to some vague hope that the fraudulent indictments are so outrageous and politically motivated that the whole sordid affair will somehow resolve itself in Trump’s favor.
But what if it doesn’t? What if the resolve of leftist authoritarians, who are absolutely committed to ensuring Donald Trump will never become president again, wins the day?
I’ll tell you what happens. If no one else is left in the race, Republicans will inherit Haley, exactly as Ramaswamy prognosticates.
Can anyone say with any degree of certainty that Ramaswamy is wrong?
The Authentic Ramaswamy
The other contention from the anti-Ramaswamy MAGA contingent is that Vivek is inauthentic. Somehow, because he has a persuasive and magnetic personality, he’s another Barack Obama. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This line of thinking is the most puzzling to me.
What has Ramaswamy said or done in his short adult life that would lead anyone to believe such outrageous accusations?
Vivek built a billion-dollar fortune through innovation, creativity and a savvy business sense. Obama was a community organizer at the same time in his life, who made his fortune off books, speaking engagements and who knows what else after he left public office. In essence, he produced nothing.
Here are the titles of Ramaswamy’s books:
Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam
Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence
Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street Is Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn’t Vote For
If you’ve ever written a book, you understand it is an extremely time-consuming endeavor. Ramaswamy’s first book was published in 2021, so if he’s really a globalist, leftist Barack Obama type, he should at least be praised for carrying out the most elaborate con of all time.
Why Supporting Ramaswamy Matters
Everyone is entitled to support the candidate of their choice (unless you’re a leftist), so if you’re a Trump MAGA voter, God bless you. Make phone calls, knock on doors, harvest ballots and become active. In truth, the primaries are essentially over before they even began, and barring something sinister, Trump is our candidate.
However, let’s not destroy a young, promising future America First leader in the process just because he’s asking uncomfortable questions. The importance of the Ramaswamy candidacy cannot be overstated. In case you haven’t looked in the mirror lately, many America First voters (including me) aren’t getting any younger, and we owe it to future generations to think beyond the next four years.
Ramaswamy is the only Republican candidate who shares context with millennials and Gen Z voters, and he understands the root cause of their pervasive hopelessness. Vivek speaks on the subject often and emphasizes the importance of exposing the falsehoods these generations have been sold by woke leftists that have dampened their spirits about the future.
As its stands, Millennials and Genz Z identify as Democrats over Republicans by 6% and 14% respectively, but 52% of these generations call themselves independent. That represents and enormous opportunity for Republicans if they choose the right messenger going forward.
That person may very well be Vivek Ramaswamy. It is absolutely essential that we embrace this vibrant, young, creative, persuasive America First trailblazer as one of our own.
America’s future may depend on it.
