Vivek Ramaswamy, the multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur and self-described intellectual godfather of the anti-woke movement, announced on Tuesday that he is running for president.
“We are in the middle of a national identity crisis,” he declared in an online video launching his campaign, offering that the current political climate constituted a form of “psychological slavery.”
Speaking straight to the camera,, with an American flag draped in the background and a flag pin on his lapel, Ramaswamy framed his campaign as a broad counteroffensive to what he called the “woke left” — describing it as a threat to open speech, the free exchanging of ideas and American exceptionalism itself.
Ramaswamy is the third high-profile candidate to declare for the presidency in 2024. Though he filed forms with the FEC declaring he would be running on the Republican side of the aisle, his announcement video made no mention of the party itself — an indication that he hopes to frame his candidacy as outside the conventional political framework.
He has already done barnstorming in early nominating states, including Iowa, where he was well received even as some of the state’s political bigwigs professed to not having familiarity with the planks on which he was running.
Ramaswamy made his fortune in biotech investing, but he is best known for his appearances on Fox News and for the New York Times bestselling book he has written.
While his chances of securing the nomination are certainly long, Ramaswamy’s entry into the contest was greeted with a traditional flare from opposition Democrats. Shortly after he appeared on Fox News to elaborate on his decision to run, the Democratic National Committee sent out a statement.
“As Vivek Ramaswamy uses Tucker Carlson’s show to announce his campaign for president, one thing is clear: The race for the MAGA base is getting messier and more crowded by the day,” it read. “Over the next few months, Republicans are guaranteed to take exceedingly extreme positions on everything from banning abortion to cutting Social Security and Medicare and we look forward to continuing to ensure every American knows just how extreme the MAGA agenda is.”
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