Elon Musk praises Vivek Ramaswamy as 'very promising' US presidential candidate

Elon Musk calls Vivek Ramaswamy a "very promising candidate" for the Republican presidential bid.

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has found an admirer in the world's richest Elon Musk, who deemed the Indian American a “very promising candidate”. Ramaswamy, who announced his 2024 presidential bid in February, has quickly moved toward the front of the chasing pack in the Republican party with his provocative rhetoric. With the first Republican primary debate less than a week away, the multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur has intensified his campaign with public meetings and interviews.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Republican Party of Iowa's Lincoln Day Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., July 28, 2023.

Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson shared the full interview of Ramaswamy on X (formerly Twitter) and said, " Vivek Ramaswamy is the youngest Republican presidential candidate ever. He's worth listening to."

Reacting to the post, Elon Musk, owner of X, said, “He is a very promising candidate.”

Musk's post has garnered over 16 million impressions at the time of writing this.

Ramaswamy has called China the “biggest threat” that the US faces and said that he would go for “total de-coupling” with Beijing if he comes to power. The Republican leader has also said that he would aim to completely re-enter the trade in the Pacific and enter trade relationships with countries like India, Japan, and South Korea.

Earlier, in an interview with Fox News, Ramaswamy said, “Xi Jinping is the dictator and China is the top threat that the United States faces. I think I am the clearest candidate in declaring a clear path in declaring economic independence from China. That would be the first step in our policy”.

He further said that he would go for a “total de-coupling” with China and ban most of the US companies from doing business in Beijing.

“I would go for total de-coupling. I would ban most US companies from doing business with China, unless and until the CCP reforms its behaviour…I think there would be short-term consequences, but I think we can make sacrifices if we know what we are sacrificing for. I also think that when you are most willing to make a sacrifice, you actually do not have to make one at all,” Ramaswamy said.