“Trump 2.0”: Vivek Ramasamy, the climate entrepreneur turning US primaries upside down | the world

As far as imagining himself in “Trump 2.0”.. Age 77.

The fact is that this absolute newcomer to politics is now third in the polls for the early 2024 Republican primaries. So much so that the current second-place Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, is breaking out into a cold sweat. , and who surfs a very similar political platform.

On the ground, Vivek Ramaswamy, a father of two young children, has made his fight against the supposedly well-intentioned “Wokism” of the American left an obsession. “We are in the midst of an identity crisis,” says the 30-year-old, who accuses the country’s elite of spreading a “cultural cancer”, particularly on LGBT+ issues. Not without success: His book “Woke Inc.” In which he developed this thesis, ranked by the New York Times as one of the best-selling books in the United States.

In an increasingly crowded field of candidates — currently more than 10 Republicans vying to challenge President Joe Biden in 2024 — Vivek Ramaswamy stands out with a serious plan.

This piano-loving vegan wants to roll back voting rights to 25 and fire 90% of the employees of the US Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice. His ready-made solution to restart growth in America? “Burn coal without stirring”.

“Like all the other candidates, Ramasamy’s only chance of recovery is if Trump collapses,” political scientist Kyle Kondik told AFP. If the majority of 2024 Republican primary contenders are careful not to criticize Donald Trump going forward, for fear of alienating his base, Vivek Ramasamy goes even further.

Appearing in court during one of the former president’s impeachments in Miami, the candidate called on all of his colleagues to pledge to pardon Donald Trump if elected. A loyalty that Donald Trump returns him well: “He’s doing well”, recently declared the Republican billionaire, more accustomed to distributing nicknames than good points to his political opponents.

Born in August 1985 in the working-class state of Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy was the son of Hindu Indian immigrants. Educated at Catholic institutions, he went on to graduate school at Harvard. At this prestigious University of Massachusetts, the man with the dazzling smile, nicknamed “Da Weck,” stands out as a gifted replacement in libertarian texts.

A fan of Eminem, he poked fun at the rural Detroit artist rapping in front of a rapturous audience at an Iowa agricultural fair, like Saturday. “If you think Speaker Vivek Ramasamy is serious, you haven’t met Da Wake yet,” quipped the university’s student newspaper The Crimson in 2006.

After a stint at Yale, he founded the biotech company Rowand, thanks to which he added more than $600 million to his personal fortune, according to Forbes magazine. He left the board of directors in February to devote himself to his campaign, which he largely funded. “This is not just a political campaign,” argues Vivek Ramasamy. “It’s a cultural movement to create a new American dream.”

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