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Why is Vivek Ramaswamy absent from the GOP debate?
Vivek Ramaswamy's absence from GOP debate sparks speculation on the future of his presidential bid.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Indian American presidential hopeful who launched a presidential campaign as a Republican, is missing from the GOP debate on Wednesday. This could signal the end of his bid for the White House, which has attracted both praise and criticism.
Ramaswamy, who calls himself “a skinny guy with a funny last name”, failed to qualify for the debate, which comes five days before the Iowa caucuses. He also stopped TV ads and skipped the Illinois primaries, where he is not on the ballot. Reports suggest that his staff are looking for other jobs.
The 38-year-old from Ohio is fourth in the national polls, behind Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley, but ahead of Chris Christie. This is impressive for a political novice, but not enough to challenge the front-runner Trump, who won the nomination in 2016 as an outsider.
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The Indian-American novice quickly became a known face
Ramaswamy, who made his fortune in the pharmaceutical industry and wrote a book against woke culture, tried to emulate Trump’s style and policies. He said in an interview with Russell Brand, “I’m more similar to Trump in 2015 than Trump today is to Trump in 2015.” He denied that he was angling for Trump’s vice-presidential pick.
Ramaswamy became a regular on news shows, where he debated with hosts of different views. He was more frequent on conservative and right-wing channels, due to his extreme positions. He also drew attention from the US media, which profiled him as an “interesting candidate” who is “evidently intelligent, highly unconventional, and less like any of the others”.
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However, he also faced harsh criticism from his rivals and some commentators. Christie mocked him as an AI app and accused him of stealing Obama’s line about his name. Haley slammed him for his lack of foreign policy experience and called him “scum” for mentioning her daughter’s TikTok use.
Hugh Gurdon, the editor of Washington Examiner, called him the “most tedious and superfluous candidate of all” and a “vanity project” that hurts the GOP’s chances of defeating Biden in 2024.
