The list of people vying for the Republican Party’s candidate for president in the 2024 election has grown to three..Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and Republican political activist dubbed the ‘CEO of Anti-Woke', announced his candidacy Tuesday night, joining former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley in the race..Ramaswamy is a first-generation American, a Harvard undergraduate, and a Yale law graduate, reports US Liberty News. He wrote and published two best-selling books, Woke Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Fraud in 2021 and Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Road Back to Excellence in 2022..In 2016, Forbes identified Ramaswamy as one of America's "richest entrepreneurs under 40," who counts billionaire Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, as a business partner..Ramaswamy launched his campaign during an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson..He told Carlson the US is experiencing a national identity crisis because “... it has celebrated the nation’s diversity and differences for so long that most have forgotten all the ways in which Americans share the same ideals that set the nation on course 250 years ago,” adding he was running “... to restore those basic rules of the road, meritocracy and the notion that advancement in society is not determined by your skin colour, but by your character.”.He also addressed international affairs, identifying China as the United States’ principal rival, says US Liberty News..In his campaign video, the Ohio native mentions how individuals on the left have created “psychological enslavement” by preventing people from speaking up for fear of being called racist and bigoted. .“This is not only a political campaign, but a cultural movement to construct a new American ideal for the next generation, and that's why I'm declaring my candidacy for president of the United States.”.In the video, Ramaswamy says the US is “hungry for a purpose” and “the fact our nation is eager for a cause, a mission and a purpose. The things that used to fill that emptiness, such as faith, patriotism, hard work, and family, no longer exist.” .“To satisfy our deeper desire for identification, people have adopted one secular religion after another, from COVID-ism to climate-ism and gender ideology” adding the nation cannot answer the question, “what does being an American mean?”.Prior to his announcement, Ramaswamy hinted at a possible run, and in January, he flew to Iowa, reports The Daily Caller. During his time there, he spoke to farmers and Republican officials about revitalizing national identity and combating the influence of progressive ideas, telling the Daily Caller that America is experiencing a national identity crisis because the elements that formerly defined American national identity have vanished..Ramaswamy is a first-generation American, a Harvard undergraduate, and a Yale law graduate, says US Liberty News..He began his career on Wall Street, then entered the pharmaceutical industry with Roivant Sciences, developers of treatments that the industry has abandoned. In 2021, he left Roivant, founding Strive Asset Management with the goal of depoliticizing corporate America from the environmental, social and governance investment movement..His estimated net wealth is around $500 million and he plans to fund his own campaign..Trump, Haley, and Ramaswamy will face increased competition as more candidates declare in the coming months, speculated to include former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former vice-president Mike Pence, Florida governor Ron DeSantis and South Carolina senator Tim Scott.
