Vivek Ramaswamy has suspended his campaign for president following a predictably unimpressive showing in Iowa and an equally predictable endorsement for former President Donald Trump. Thus concludes what was at turns the most bizarre, the most impressive and most irritating presidential campaign of the 2024 season.
Ramaswamy’s chief accomplishment during his campaign was becoming famous. Prior to his White House bid, Ramaswamy, a former biotech executive, was starting to make waves as a self-proclaimed expert on so-called “woke” ideology with a book and appearances on Fox News. But his presidential campaign elevated his profile dramatically. Using a say-yes-to-everybody media strategy, Ramaswamy swiftly became a high-profile MAGA warrior by sparring with reporters and pundits across the political spectrum and constantly going viral online with inflammatory soundbites. Considering he was not widely known prior to 2023 and has no electoral experience, his high point of third place in national primary polls last summer was remarkable. However, the way he got there says a lot about the alarming state of the Republican Party.
It was unclear whether Ramaswamy was running for president or for a Cabinet position in a future Trump administration.
Ramaswamy’s strategy as a candidate was to out-Trump Donald Trump. He embraced an ideology that was MAGA on steroids, and whether discussing policy or politics, everything he said served as a provocative stunt to generate even more media attention. When discussing his vision for his presidency, he promised to launch military strikes against Mexico, abolish the Department of Education and dismantle the entire taxation system. When discussing his plans to address climate change, he insisted that it was imperative to “drill, frack, burn coal.” And naturally, he spent a lot of time railing against “wokeism,” the subject of his book.
Ramaswamy also shares with Trump a penchant for public nastiness. During the debates…
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