Vivek Ramaswamy’s run for president ended with a whimper
Greater Cincinnati native Vivek Ramaswamy launched his 2024 presidential campaign with some history on his side. Ohio was once known as the “Cradle of Presidents.” Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Buckeye State produced a disproportionate share of chief executives:
• 1840 – William Henry Harrison, a former Army officer famous for the Battle of Tippecanoe in the Northwest Indian Wars (Ohio was in the NW then!) lived in North Bend and served in the Congressional seat now held by Greg Landsman.
• 1868 – Ulysses S. Grant, the Union’s preeminent general of the Civil War, came from Georgetown.
• 1880 – James Garfield from Hiram, another Civil War general.
• 1896 – William McKinley, a former Ohio governor from Niles.
• 1908 – Cincinnati’s own William Howard Taft, a former Hamilton County judge and Teddy Roosevelt Cabinet member.
• 1920 – Warren G. Harding, from Marion, a former Ohio and U.S. senator.
(Turns out these Ohioans were star crossed: Garfield and McKinley were assassinated, Harrison died only 31 days after his inauguration, Harding died of a heart attack months into his second year and Taft was defeated seeking reelection.)
Yet Greater Cincinnati’s “favorite son,” raised in Evendale and a product of St. Xavier High School, hardly followed in those storied footsteps. He’s not a former general, governor or senator. Instead, the 38-year-old’s claim to fame, and deep pockets, was as a hedge fund billionaire who performed as a talking head on Fox News who laid out an anti-woke agenda in books like Nation of Victims.
The crowded GOP field included former governors, a senator and one very loud former president. To stand out, Ramaswamy tried to “Out Trump Trump.” Like Trump in 2016, he spent his fortune lavishly and embraced a plethora of right-wing conspiracy theories. He doubled down on the “Great Replacement” conspiracy threat posed by immigrants, even though his parents were Indian immigrants. Campaign promises included eliminating the FBI, raising the voting age to 25 and attacking Mexico.
It did not go well. A loud, gesticulating splash in the first GOP debate generated a summer surge. But Ramaswamy wilted as other candidates turned their fire on him. Nikki Haley memorably called him scum and told him during a debate, ”Every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber.” Trump piled on, telling his loyal base that Ramaswamy was “not MAGA.” Ouch. Ramaswamy’s Hindu faith probably didn’t help him with all those hyper-conservative Iowa Christians. But the biggest problem with running as a Trump clone was that the original model was still available.
Our town’s “favorite son” folded his 2024 tent after a distant fourth place finish in Iowa. Within days he was on the stage during Trump’s New Hampshire victory rally, kissing his role model’s ring. He’s been mentioned as a possible vice president candidate, but Trump has a variety of sycophants to choose from with actual past experience in elective office. Maybe a job in a relatively obscure cabinet job is in Vivek’s future if Trump wins?
But there is always 2028 or beyond. Before another trip to Iowa, Vivek should examine the sad experience of another prominent Cincinnatian—longtime Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft. Taft, aka “Mr. Republican,” was the son of William Howard. But Taft flopped in runs for the GOP nomination in 1940, 1948 and 1952. Like Ramaswamy, Taft planted himself on the far-right edge of his party. As one of the original “America Firsters,” Taft opposed U.S. involvement in the war to stop Hitler. Later he opposed U.S. membership in NATO and the United Nations.
Like Cincinnati’s own Taft back in the 1940s and ‘50s, Ramaswamy’s professed views may be popular on the GOP fringe, but seem out of step with most Americans.
Maybe he should stick to hedge funding?
