The conservative Republican party has candidates from diverse sections of society running for the 2024 Presidential election. The youngest candidate in the Republican field, former biotech entrepreneur and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, was born and raised in Ohio to parents who emigrated from India. He announced his candidacy in February 2023.

Ramaswamy believes that seeking the presidency is about reviving a sense of national identity and civic pride. During an interview with ABC on June 5, Vivek Ramaswamy said, ‘‘I am the outsider in this race, and you only get to be an outsider once. I am also the first millennial to run for the GOP nomination for U.S. President. Being an America-first conservative, I see a lot of Americans hungry for that message.’’

Former U.S. President Donald Trump also praised the second Indian-American to enter the Presidential race. In May this year, Trump said he likes Vivek Ramaswamy as the former President had only nice things to say about him and all the work carried out by the Trump administration. Trump said, “I am pleased to see that Vivek Ramaswamy is doing so well in the most recent Republican Primary Poll, CBS YouGov.”

But as Trump remains the frontrunner, the challenge for Ramaswamy becomes even more significant. In the aftermath of the former President being indicted for the second time while on trial, his competition Vivek Ramaswamy has chosen primarily to rally to his side. In a statement on June 8, the 37-year-old biotech executive echoed Trump’s criticism of the special prosecutor, saying there were “two tiers of justice,” with Trump subject to a different standard than President Joe Biden.

Ramaswamy spoke at the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser with U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, on June 3, 2023, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. He believes that Communist China is the number 1 threat that the U.S. faces in the next century. He added, ”The next U.S. President has an opportunity to sign a declaration of independence from communist China which would mean total decoupling; we’re done with it.” During another event, the Republican primary added that the U.S. would give China a “taste of American exceptionalism” by suggesting opening a branch of NRA (National Rifle Association) and putting an AR-15 rifle in every Taiwanese family.

Being a pro-life supporter, Vivek Ramaswamy does not intend to sign federal abortion restrictions into law. In an interview with NPR in May, Ramaswamy said, ‘’Abortion is a form of murder, which is the pro-life position, and I am pro-life, then it would make no sense for that to be the one law that was still governed at the federal level. But a federal ban violates the constitutional principle that led us to overturn Roe vs. Wade, which is why I would not sign a federal abortion ban.”

The Indian-origin Presidential candidate is all over the news for touting his plans to end the war in Ukraine and safeguarding American interests along with it. His strategy includes proposing some major concessions with Russia after allowing them to keep whatever they have seized in Ukraine till now and restore economic relations with the West. According to him, the bargain should include an end to Moscow’s partnership with Beijing, removing nuclear weapons from Kaliningrad, and returning to compliance with the new START treaty on nuclear weapons.