All posts tagged "vivek ramaswamy"

Trump voters tear apart Vivek Ramaswamy in scathing focus group: 'You're mud to me'

President Donald Trump's voters shredded Vivek Ramaswamy's bid for Ohio governor, knocking the Republican as rich, out of touch and full of empty promises.

The voters, all of whom backed Trump in 2024 but now disapprove of his job performance, spoke with former GOP pollster Sarah Longwell for an episode of The Bulwark's "Focus Group" podcast released Saturday.

"I guess if he's one of Trump's boys, that tells me all I need to know," one voter said. "The only thing I've heard about him is that he's for the data centers, and I think about how does that help me as a person, as a working person."

She added, "So anybody who's for data centers, you're mud to me. I don't give a rat's a-- about you."

Others zeroed in on how Ramaswamy made his fortune. One voter said his work in the pharmaceutical industry made them "skeptical" of him, while another pointed to attack ads airing in their area.

"I see the commercials all the time, you know, that he knew this drug didn't work, but he was pushing it so he could make millions of dollars," the voter said.

Another voter said Ramaswamy's wealth left him disconnected from ordinary Ohioans.

"I just know Vivek is extremely rich," the voter said. "Not that that's a bad thing, but most of the people in power are, and they just have no clue what it's like to be a middle-class person right now."

A different voter said Ramaswamy seemed to have few real ties to the state and came across as a "Republican agenda candidate."

Even voters leaning toward Ramaswamy sounded unenthused, Longwell noted. One said his pitch to eliminate the state income tax was appealing but likely "empty promises." Another said he had liked Ramaswamy's 2024 presidential run but had grown jaded.

"I don't believe anything anymore," the voter said. "It's hard to buy into something and then, you know, get fooled and not be jaded."

Longwell noted the voters were exactly the kind of people who should embrace Ramaswamy, yet she heard "not a lot of excitement" for him.

'Oh no': Vivek Ramaswamy humiliated after posting his 'terrible' baseball swing

MAGA gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is drawing online mockery after posting a campaign video featuring him swinging a baseball bat.

On Wednesday, the campaign for the GOP nominee for governor in Ohio posted the video, which cut together heavy metal, Ramaswamy making promises like cutting taxes, and footage of him taking a few swings in a batting cage. Online critics piled on over how he swung the bat and were baffled by his campaign's decision to share the video.

"This man has NEVER swung a bat before," journalist Chris Cillizza reacted.

"No load, all his weight on his front foot," critiqued Adam Jentleson, a political commentator and the former chief of staff to John Fetterman. "Terrible swing, embarrassed for him."

"They let this swing get out there?" wondered attorney and Democratic politician Eugene DePasquale. "It's embarrassing. I would be worried if a 10 year old swung the bat like this."

"He swings like the last kid picked in the 7/8 year old coach-pitch league," wrote Ron Filipkowski, the editor-in-chief of the political news network MeidasTouch.

"Absolute malpractice by this campaign," agreed journalist Jake Lahut. "It will be studied."

"Only explanation here is that Vivek's digital team hates him and wants him to lose," speculated Alex Jacquez, a veteran political strategist and former Biden White House official.

"Oh no," lamented Eric Boehm, a writer for the libertarian Reason magazine.

"A disqualifying swing and whoever edited it did their best to clip out his setup and load and it still looks bad," blasted sportswriter Mike Guardabascio.

"This is why every campaign needs a 'no' guy - someone the boss trusts who has the ability to stop all bad ideas," advised Democratic political strategist Steve Schale.

"I've never disliked a boss enough to let them post something like this," commented political communications strategist Robyn Patterson.

"Somebody he pays money to told him 'no, no, you look GREAT,'" suggested veteran political commentator Keith Olbermann.

Vivek Ramaswamy caught on audio defending GOP candidate accused of domestic abuse

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy defended embattled Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), who's accused of domestic abuse against his ex-wife and daughter.

In a leaked audio published on Wednesday, Ramaswamy can be heard telling a supposed supporter that he has to defend Miller for the sake of the GOP.

"Thank you for supporting Max, Max Miller," an unidentified man can be heard telling Ramaswamy in a recording published by Headquarters News in a post on X.

"Absolutely," Ramaswamy responded. "Up and down the ticket."

"Are you going to go out and campaign with him?" the unidentified voice asked.

"My view is this is the most important election for preserving the Republican control of the House, the Senate, and also protecting the Republican control of the state," Ramaswamy said. "If we compromise that, we're done. So that's the way I look at it."

Members of the GOP have called on Miller to resign, including Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), the father of Miller's ex-wife. Miller has been accused of pouring hot water on his ex-wife, holding a gun to her head, and holding a blue stuffed bunny hostage; their 2-year-old daughter also suffered a broken collarbone in his care. He has denied all of it.

Miller has bucked the calls to drop out of his bid for re-election and stayed in the race past the deadline to pick a new candidate. GOP leaders like President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have steered away from explicit calls for him to drop out, and Miller has compared himself to Trump while defending his choice to stay in the race.

Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate and former Trump DOGE pick, is the GOP nominee for governor in Ohio, which will also host key November midterm races in the House and Senate.

"They deserve what's coming to them in November," wrote Democratic political strategist Mike Nellis in a post reacting to Ramaswamy's leaked audio.

Vivek Ramaswamy viciously booed off stage after speaking 'truth' to conservative youth

MAGA Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy fled a speaking event on Thursday after an audience started booing him over his comments.

Ramaswamy was speaking at the 2026 National YAL Conference in Cleveland when the crowd grew angry with him.

"The truth of the matter is, people in my generation have already made it. We're gonna be fine," Ramaswamy said.

The crowd broke out into booing and yelling at the Republican candidate. Video capturing the moment showed Ramaswamy quickly moving off stage and away from the group.

"You're a political creep and you need to get the f--- out of here!" one person in the crowd yelled out.

Vivek Ramaswamy is booed offstage after telling Ohio crowd, 'The truth of the matter is, people in my generation have already made it. We're gonna be fine.' pic.twitter.com/Ptm3KHwXY2
— FactPost (@factpostnews) July 30, 2026

Vivek Ramaswamy caught trashing state he wants to govern in resurfaced video

A video has resurfaced of Trump and MAGA ally trashing the state where he's campaigning as governor.

"Ohio is a good state. I can't say it's the best state," Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said in a 2023 video that is making the rounds on social media.

According to a Friday article by the Huffington Post, the clip came from a speech delivered at Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school, when Ramaswamy was running for president. Trump later brought him into the White House to co-chair DOGE.

Ramaswamy, in the video, is answering a question from a student from Indiana who asked him what his favorite state is. Although he says he's from Ohio in the speech, he was quick to count it out as his favorite, and he chuckles at the student saying her native Indiana is her favorite state.

His Democratic opponent in the Ohio race told the HuffPost that the comments are proof Ramaswamy is "an out-of-touch billionaire" who "calls Ohioans 'lazy' and 'mediocre,' and looks down at Ohio from the seat of his private jet." She called the comments "not surprising."

Ohio GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou downplayed the impact of Ramaswamy's comments when talking to HuffPost.

"These kinds of out-of-context 'gotcha' clips aren't going to decide the race in Ohio," he said. "Vivek is a man of ideas."

Ohio Gov. candidate Vivek Ramaswamy slams Ohio:

"Ohio is a good state, I can't say it's the best state." pic.twitter.com/NfuWT9bGT1
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) May 1, 2026

Busted: Fox News caught passing off Turning Point USA official as average voter in diner

Social media users quickly caught that a man interviewed for a Fox News segment as though he were a random voter was actually a leader in a major conservative group.

A Fox and Friends segment was supposed to feature the on-the-spot opinions of random diners at a Columbus, Ohio restaurant. Juliet Jeske, who runs the X account Decoding Fox News, posted on Friday that reporter Lawrence Jones was actually interviewing members of Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk.

"This is your classic Fox and Friends diner segment," Jeske said. "Lawrence Jones is supposed to be talking to everyday people."

Jones was asking diners about their impression of the recent campaign event by Vivek Ramaswamy, who's running for governor of Ohio. Fox and Friends interviewed three people, including two who were wearing Turning Point USA hats.

The other person, who identified as "Jake," answered Jones' questions about whether Republicans can win over young voters in support of Ramaswamy.

"Absolutely, they can," Jake said. "The turnout was absolutely amazing last night, and we had so many great young people that really wanted to see a better Ohio."

Although Jones walked up to him as though he were picking a random guy, Jeske said she identified him "in thirty minutes" as Jake Poling, a regional manager of Turning Point USA, through his social media, where he had pictures with Kirk.

"Vivek answered all the questions with passion and with grace," Poling continued, telling Jones. "Everybody took away a lot of great things."

Poling confirmed on Facebook that he was interviewed for the segment, writing, "a bright and early Wednesday morning representing Turning Point USA with Fox and Friends."

Still, other social media users weren't happy. The X account Bad Fox Graphics wrote, "Jake Poling’s views are his own, even if he is appearing in a suit jacket at 6:19a on @foxandfriends as a typical Columbus, OH diner while concealing his 'Christian - Committed' @TPUSA Regional Manager role."

In a classic Fox News move Lawrence Jones spoke to an employee of Turning Point USA who he tried to present as a random person in a diner. Jake Poling is a regional manager with TPUSA. Poling was NOT identified as a TPUSA employee in the segment. pic.twitter.com/pg7a65u83h
— Decoding Fox News (@DecodingFoxNews) April 24, 2026

J.D. Vance loans core advisers to boost Vivek Ramaswamy's Ohio governor bid: report

Vivek Ramaswamy's bid to become Ohio's next governor has the support of the Trump administration, NBC News reported Monday.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who recently left his post with Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is expected to announce his run next month. When he does, he'll have the power of the White House behind him, thanks to Vice President J.D. Vance "loaning out" his own top political advisers to boost Ramaswamy's campaign.

NBC News quoted an anonymous source who said Ramaswamy hired Vance's advisers following two weeks of conversations between the former Yale Law classmates.

ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy

"The hirings also signal that Vance’s team, which overlaps in places with President Donald Trump’s, is fully behind Ramaswamy and that Vance himself is comfortable loaning out his advisers' talents to him," NBC News reported, adding, "For Vance, it’s an early flex of the political muscle that helped elevate him first to the Senate in his and Ramaswamy’s native Ohio and, most recently, to the vice presidency."

NBC News named Jai Chabria and Andy Surabian as two of Vance's advisers who are expected to come on board.

"Chabria, a longtime Republican operative in Ohio, will be the campaign’s general consultant. Surabian, a veteran of Trump’s earlier races who consulted on Sen. Bernie Moreno’s successful campaign last year in Ohio and is a senior political adviser to Donald Trump Jr., will oversee an outside political organization aligned with Ramaswamy," the report said.

Also expected to join Ramaswamy's campaign are Tony Fabrizio, "the pollster from Vance’s 2022 Senate bid who has worked on Trump’s campaigns," and Arthur Schwartz, "a close ally to Vance and Trump Jr."

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is unable to run again after serving two terms as Ohio's governor. DeWine appointed Lt. Gov. John Husted (R) to fill Vance's vacated spot in the U.S. Senate, so he's out of the running, as well. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ramaswamy's biggest competition in the Republican primary will be Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Read the NBC News report here.

'Elon basically runs the show': Trump insider claims as Ramaswamy eyes DOGE exit

Vivek Ramaswamy may have his sights set on becoming Ohio's next governor, despite plans for him to head up Donald Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with with Elon Musk, according to a new report.

Trump appointed the two billionaires to the newly-formed department with a goal of cutting $2 trillion of waste from the federal budget. Musk has since revised that number to $1 trillion.

Ramaswamy (R), who recently ran for the Republican nomination for president, intends to formally announce his gubernatorial candidacy by the last week in January, according to Politico.

Incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine will not run again in 2026 due to term limits, and he recently appointed his Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. Ramaswamy, an Ohio resident, is said to have been "interested" in filling Vance's seat before Husted was announced.

Politico cited "multiple" anonymous sources in its reporting.

ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration

Reporter Adam Wren wrote that on Saturday "Ramaswamy showed up at an all-hands DOGE meeting at the SpaceX headquarters in Washington," adding that "Musk was not present."

The report continued, "Privately, some in Trump’s world see Ramaswamy’s nascent gubernatorial campaign as a way to clear a path for Musk to do his own work at the agency without him."

An "informal" adviser to Trump added, “Elon basically runs the show."

Wren wrote, "A person well briefed on the inner workings of DOGE said that multiple executive orders related to its purview are expected in the first week of the Trump administration, including one that deals with government contracts and one that assigns how the DOGE workforce is embedded throughout the federal government."

Representatives for Ramaswamy, Musk, and DOGE declined to comment on these latest developments.

A breakdown of Trump's uber-wealthy admin officials as Joe Biden warns of 'oligarchy'

President-elect Donald Trump may have claimed that he would hire "the best people" to work in his incoming administration, but one thing's for certain — he is hiring the richest.

In fact, the combined wealth of Trump’s richest nominees and transition team officials "amounts to over $313 billion," according to a report from Americans For Tax Fairness.

Trump's pick for treasury secretary, hedge fund executive Scott Bessent, is set to answer questions at his confirmation hearing on Thursday. Bessent "has hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and owns property from North Dakota to the Bahamas," CNN reported.

ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife

CNN national political writer Fredreka Schouten pointed out the irony in an article for CNN.com Thursday, writing, "Trump is returning to the White House after making appeals to working-class voters in last year’s election, but he has assembled one of the wealthiest administrations in history – turning to nearly a dozen people worth at least $1 billion on their own or combined with their spouses’ assets – to oversee the nation’s policies and represent the US overseas as ambassadors."

Some of the more high-profile multi-millionaires and billionaires ready to take their place in the Trump administration are Elon Musk ($300+ billion), Vivek Ramaswamy ($1 billion), Doug Bergum ($100 million), and, of course, Trump ($5.4 billion) and incoming Vice President J.D. Vance ($4.8 to $11.3 million), themselves.

Americans For Tax Fairness broke out the names and net worths of some of the other wealthiest nominees and office holders. They include:

Linda McMahon, Education Secretary Nominee, $2.6 billion; Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary Nominee, $2 billion; Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, $1 billion; Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East, $500 million; Chris Wright, Energy Secretary Nominee, $171 million; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. HHS Secretary Nominee, $15 million; Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary Nominee, $9.6 million; Michael Waltz, National Security Advisor, $9 million; Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary Nominee, $6 million; Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary Nominee, $1 to $5 million; Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Nominee, $3 million; Brooke Rollins, Agriculture Secretary Nominee, $3 million; Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador Nominee, $1.8 million; Pam Bondi, Attorney General Nominee, $1.8 million.

During his farewell speech Wednesday, President Biden warned Americans about allowing the super-rich to control the government.

“I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And this is a dangerous concern. And that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people,” Biden said. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”

View the list of the wealthiest nominees and office holders here and read the CNN Politics article here.

‘Mind your own damn business’: Vivek Ramaswamy repurposes Tim Walz quote for GOP

CHICAGO — Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Donald Trump administration Ambassador Carlos Trujillo came to Chicago on Thursday to rip on the city as what they consider an example of the ravages of illegal immigration.

Yet, amid the bashing of Chicago and Vice President Kamala Harris for not being tough enough on undocumented migrants, Ramaswamy — who reportedly has political ambitions in a future Trump administration or as an Ohio gubernatorial or U.S. Senate candidate — gave props to Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at a press conference at the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump exploits AP photo error for new $99 'Save America' book

“I gotta admit I kind of like Tim Walz’s slogan. What does he say? ‘Mind your own damn business,’” Ramaswamy said at the press conference hosted by the Trump campaign.

Ramaswamy repurposed the slogan with an “anti-woke” sentiment he’s known to push, contrasting with Walz’s message about Republicans intruding on citizens' reproductive freedoms.

“It's a message that we espouse ourselves when it comes to entering your house and taking your gas stove, mind your own damn business,” Ramaswamy said. “When it comes to letting millions of illegals into this country to commit crimes and mind our business, we tell them mind your own damn business. When it comes to actually indoctrinating our children in this country, telling small businesses who they can and cannot hire … mind your own damn business.”

ALSO READ: Inside the Democratic National Convention corporate moneyfest

The press conference — part of a week's worth of daily Trump campaign counter-programming outside the Democratic National Convention — started with new Trump campaign ads featuring a video compilation of Harris’ comments saying that “an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.”

Trujillo, who served as U.S. permanent representative to the Organization of American States from March 2018 to January 2021, bashed "sanctuary cities" such as Chicago, which won’t deny someone city services strictly because of their immigration status.

“The United States is not a sanctuary for all. It’s a sanctuary for Americans who come here to work for our county and to defend our Constitution,” Trujillo said.

Ramaswamy called Chicago “a city ravaged and devastated by the effects of not only rampant crime, but rampant crime worsened by the effects of illegal mass migration to this country.”

The estimated illegal immigrant population in the United States was 11 million in 2022, according to a July 2024 article from the Pew Research Center. The number peaked at 12.2 million in 2007.

The latest homicide statistics from the City of Chicago show that there have been 364 killings in Chicago this year through Aug. 17 — 34 less than the same time last year. Chicago began to see a decline in homicides in 2022 after a spike in 2020 and 2021, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Tyrone Muhammad, founder of Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change and Ex-Cons for Trump, attended the press conference in support of Ramaswamy and Trump. As a native Chicagoan who said he served 21 years in prison for murder, Muhammad agreed with Ramswamy’s characterization of Chicago a crime-ridden city saying he understands “what gang drugs and violence does.”

“They're saying the right messages, talking about the right points in our communities. The only question I would have is, why don't Republicans reach out more to communities that feel more disinvested by the Democratic Party?” Muhammad said. “For 60 years, my grandmama, uncles and family members have traditionally voted Democrat, and so here's the opportunity for us to do something different and give another party a chance to see how they can help fix some of the issues.”

J.R. Majewski, a controversial former congressional candidate from Ohio, sat in the audience at the Trump press conference and posted on X his support of Ramaswamy’s speech.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.

Harris is scheduled to deliver her presidential nomination acceptance speech tonight at Chicago's United Center, where prime-time Democratic National Committee festivities have taken place since Monday.