GOP candidate wants to define America, restructure government

The man claiming to be the youngest Republican presidential candidate in American history, is using the early years of the country as his motivation for his strategy should he win the 2024 election.

Vivek Ramaswamy, 38, spoke Sunday at Pizza Ranch in Creston as part of a southern Iowa tour.

“We are in the middle of a national identity crisis,” he said. “Faith, patriotism, hard work, family; these things have disappeared only to be replaced by new secular religion, wokeism, transgenderism, climatism, covid-ism, depression, anxiety, fentanyl, suicide. These are symptoms of deeper voice for purpose of meaning in our country.”

Ramaswamy said being an American means believing in the ideals of the American Revolution, the pursuit of excellence. “You do get ahead in this country not by the color of your skin but by the content of your character and contributions.”

Finding an identity for the country is his goal.

“I’m not a politician. I’m dong this as an outsider,” he said.

He said he plans to use the military to assist with border patrol of the southern and northern borders.

He also wants to monitor and end “the shadow government of the three-letter agencies that are really pulling the strings today.”

Ramaswamy wants eight-year term limits for the bureaucracy.

“That is how you actually drain the swamp. We are not going to tinker around the edge and attempt to reform them,” he said.

He is in favor of a 75 % reduction in the number of federal bureaucrats and to reduce regulations that constrict the oil and gas industry plus further pursue nuclear energy. He wants voting as a national holiday with national IDs for registered voters.

“These are not black ideas or white ideas. These are not even Democrat ideas or Republican ideas. They are fundamentally American ideas we fought a revolution to secure in this country. I beleive those ideals still exist. I’m running for president to revive them.”

Ramaswamy touched on several of the issues during the presidential campaigns.

“There are two genders, fossil fuels are a requirement for human prosperity. Reverse racism is racism. An open border is not a border. Parents determine education of their children. Capitalism is till the best system known to man to lift us up from poverty.”

Foreign relations

Ramaswamy said the country must ends its financial relationships with China.

“Not a nation, nor a corporation, not a virus, not China is going to defeat us. That is what American exceptionalism is all about.”

Ramawswamy said the world is close to World War 3 in his lifetime and blames both Democrat and Republican parties.

“China is the real threat we face. We depend on China for our modern ways of life, shoes on our feet to the phones in our pocket. The U.S. military equipment most of it depends on China. It doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

He is also concerned about China’s involvement with pharmaceuticals, also distributed in the U.S. adding China was the source of the COVID-19 virus that spread around the world starting in early 2020.

“What are they going to do with the legal pharmaceutical chain they are providing 95% of,” he asked.

Going back in American history, Ramaswamy said Thomas Jefferson declared independence, he will declare independence form China.

“We cannot depend on our enemy for or modern way of life,” he said.

The candidate explained how the country of Taiwan produces semiconductors for everyday electronics. and that will be a major problem if China invades Taiwan.

“We don’t want China to have an economic gun to our head,” he said.

He also questions America’s support of Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion.

“It does not advance American interest to use taxpayers, while trillions in the hole, whose national debt is less than ours. We are driving Russia further into China’s hands by arming Ukraine. Russia China alliance is the single greatest threat we face. You don’t hear that.”

A Ramaswamy presidency will not allow China to buy American land, donate to universites and not use American companies to advance political agendas.

He said he will also protect middle class America and farm land adding how many government agencies are “stifling small business or smaller farm competition.”

Ramaswamy said he has not problem with personal wealth, but what could happen afterward.

“I’m fine with people being wealthy. The problem is that class of people use government as a wall building to stop and choke the existence out of everyone else.”

He said he is in favor of term limits, but knows it will never pass. He prefers a maximum of two terms in the Senate and three in the House.

“It’s not going to happen because those in power won’t vote to limit themselves.”

He does have a plan to circumvent that.

“The real cancer is the three-letter agencies, millions of bureaucrats crawling around Washington D.C. If I can’t work more than eight years for you, neither should most of the federal bureaucrats,” he said.

He will create human resources policy that permits layoffs of said employees, not traditional job terminations.

“Every politican dances to the tune of their biggest donor. In that case, my biggest donor is me. I don’t want to be someone else’s circus monkey,” he said.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, he graduated from Harvard with a degree in biology and received his juris doctor from Yale. In 2022, he founded Strive, an Ohio-based asset management firm that competes with asset managers like BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard and others.

Vivek is married to Apoorva, a throat surgeon and assistant professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. They live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two sons.