Vivek Ramaswamy Rises to Second Spot in Republican Race: His Views on FBI, Ukraine, Modi Explained

Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has gradually risen among the top Republican choices in the US Presidential race despite not being nationally known when he entered the race.

In a recent poll, the author of ‘Woke Inc.’ was at the second place in the Republican presidential field, sharing his position with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

An Emerson College poll showed Ron DeSantis and Ramaswamy tied at 10 percent each, trailing former President Donald Trump, who leads with 56 percent, according to a report in The Hill.

Now all eyes are on the first Republican primary debate next week, where Ramaswamy, DeSantis and other GOP presidential candidates will have the opportunity to stand out on a national stage, while Trump is planning to skip it.

All About Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy, a young, rich and lesser-known tech entrepreneur who calls wokeism a national threat, launched his 2024 presidential bid during a live interview on Fox News’s prime time show in February this year.

Having just turned 38, Ramaswamy is the youngest person to be a major Republican presidential candidate. Born in Ohio to immigrant parents from India, he earned a biology degree from Harvard University and then finished Yale Law School.

He made his fortune after starting a biotech company, last year founded an asset management firm and is the author of several books, including Woke, Inc. His books helped Ramaswamy gain exposure in conservative circles, including on Fox News, as a critic of ESG, or looking not just at profit in investments, but also at environmental, social and governance issues, such as a company’s policies on climate.

Ramaswamy maintains that he is the only candidate in the GOP field who can deliver the landslide victory that the country needs in 2024.

Elon Musk’s Support for Ramaswamy

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called Vivek Ramaswamy a ‘promising candidate’ for the presidential election. Responding to a clip of Ramaswamy, shared on X, on Tucker Carlson’s show, Musk said, “He is a very promising candidate."

Vivek Ramaswamy’s Views on Middle East, Ukraine, FBI

Vivek Ramaswamy is anti-war, anti-immigrant and said that he will put an end to the war in Ukraine. However, the core of Ramaswamy’s politics appears to be “anti-wokeism". He is believed to carry forward many of Trump’s policies, but presents himself as more eloquent and optimistic.

Here are some of his views that he has put forward in public:

1. Ramaswamy has called on the US to use normalization deals in the Middle East as a tool to end its military aid to Israel after 2028. He said Israel should not get more aid than its Middle Eastern neighbours after 2028, the year that the current US aid package of $38 billion expires.
2. On the Ukraine War, he advocated for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict with Moscow keeping parts of Donbas region and Kyiv not joining NATO. He further added that Vladimir Putin must exit his military alliance with China to end the conflict.
3. The Republican candidate says he practices Hinduism but shares the “same values" as Christians. He also said that he will defend religious liberties in the US. “I’m Hindu. I’m not Christian, and we are a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values. But here’s what I can say with confidence: I share those same values in common," Ramaswamy has said.
4. He became a regular commentator on Fox News and other conservative outlets, backing capitalism and meritocracy, and criticizing affirmative action, mask mandates and open borders. Ramaswamy is anti-abortion and believes gender dysphoria should be treated as a mental illness.
5. Vivek Ramaswamy has praised Narendra Modi as an “excellent" prime minister and an “outstanding leader" of India. He added that he would like a US president to emulate his example and stand proudly for American national identity. “I think he’s been an excellent prime minister for India. I think he has unapologetically embraced free-market capitalism," Ramaswamy told the American Bazaar in an interview. “It’s the best system known to man to lift people up from poverty. We know that from our experience here in the United States."
6. He has also vowed to shut down several prominent federal agencies including the FBI, Department of Education, the ATF, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the IRS, the Department of Commerce. He said that these agencies should not exist and added that the move would be a part of his domestic policy legacy because it will also stimulate our economy.
7. Ramaswamy says his other rivals wouldn’t be able to laying off 75% of the federal bureaucracy in his first term, including 50% in year one. Some 20,000 members of the FBI would be let go as he dismantles the agency, he said. The remaining 15,000 frontline agents would go to work for what he says are more effective agencies, such as the U.S. Marshals Service, to focus on crimes such as child sex trafficking.
8. During his college, Ramaswamy was unafraid to speak against campus liberalism. He didn’t shy away from disagreeing with his right-leaning friends on subjects like the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. According to a report in Time, when then-FBI Director Robert Mueller visited his campus in 2007, Ramaswamy grilled him about whether there should be an outside check on the FBI around civil liberties.
9. Ramaswamy believes that the United States has become a place full of victims, and says the country has lost its purpose and its focus on faith, patriotism, hard work and family. He is proud of not needing a teleprompter, and his mix of policy specifics and smooth delivery has won over some voters.
10. He also said that by March 31, 2025, he would station the military along the US-Mexico border positioned every half-mile to protect against illegal immigration and drugs like fentanyl entering the country. Those proposals all brought cheers during his recent Iowa stops.