The art of the hustle
Vivek Ramaswamy vies to be Trumps Mini-Me and he may just succeed
Vivek Ramaswamy had quite the coming-out party two weeks ago at the first Republican Presidential Debate. His unambiguous pomposity, disrespectful disruptions, and conspiratorial bloviating encased in a thick layer of political naivety were on full display. His comportment and obliviousness as to how government works should disqualify him in the minds of most voters for any public office, much less President of the United States.
Yet there he was. A man of color, who I dare say is darker than I am, embracing the themes and ideologies of the MAGA right much to their delight. To paraphrase Will Rogers, it’s not what Ramaswamy doesn’t knows that scares me, it’s what he does know just isn’t true. As Joe Biden once described Barack Obama, Ramaswamy is “clean and articulate.” As a candidate, he has bought in fully to George Castanza’s credo as he continues to spew falsehoods. “It’s not a lie if you believe it.”
Ramaswamy, as a public figure, first came to my attention during a CNN interview in which he felt the need to explain African American History to then anchor, Don Lemon. I found it rich and off-putting that an immigrant of Indian descent dared to believe that he could better understand the enduring pain of the circumstances of African Americans better than someone who, along with his ancestors had lived it. Why would he even think that he had that right?
Well, given the background of his family, it’s easy to see why he displays a patronizing tone when addressing African Americans and discussing what he believes to be our plight in the United States. There are four principal groups in the Indian caste system, with Brahmins occupying the top level. Ramaswamy’s parents, V. Ganapathy Ramaswamy and his wife Geetha were members of the upper-caste Tamil Brahmin in India.
A fifth level operates outside of the system, the Dalits or untouchables (“Broken People”) as they are popularly known. In her best-selling tome, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent,” author Isabel Wilkerson recounts the story of Martin and Coretta Scott King’s visit to a high school populated by Dalits. The principal of the school introduced the civil rights leader as a “fellow untouchable.” Initially irritated, King later reflected on the lives of most Black Americans at the time and acknowledged that yes, he was one.
There is no doubt in my mind, given his family history and air of superiority that he exudes, Ramaswamy looks at African Americans as untouchables. Both of his parents were highly educated professionals in India before they moved to the U.S. and started a family. Ramaswamy’s father had received a graduate degree in engineering before emigrating to the U.S. in the 70s. Ramaswamy’s mother had obtained a medical degree in geriatric psychiatry from Mysore Medical College & Research Institute in India by the time she arrived in the U.S. in 1985. Based on his espoused views on race, even if he were aware of it, Ramaswamy would never acknowledge the role that the civil rights movement played in the immigration reform that opened the door for his parents and others to come to America to live and create the life he is taking for granted.
But to hear him tell it, Ramaswamy’s story is one of rags to riches, which is odd since he graduated from a private high school where the tuition is currently more than $16,000 per year. Ramaswamy went on to attend Harvard while receiving dividend income from a stock portfolio that his parents established for him. After graduating, Ramaswamy worked for QVT Financial, a hedge fund. During a four-year period before entering law school, the aspiring grifter reported more than $3.4 million in total income on his tax returns. Yet, that didn’t stop him from accepting a $90,000 scholarship funded by the Paul & Doris Soros Fellowship for New Americans. Paul Soros was the deceased older brother of right-wing boogeyman and Progressive billionaire George Soros.
Like most charlatans, the more light that is shown on him, the more his warts are exposed. His tenure as CEO of Roivant, the pharmaceutical company that he founded, and the succession of losses that have followed even after he stepped down as its head have raised several troubling questions. There are also controversies surrounding his sale of stock options, the profits of which are funding his presidential campaign. Scrutiny is also intensifying over his involvement with Axovant Sciences Alzheimer’s drug, Intepirdine, and the shenanigans that followed concerning failed clinical trials, while the company experienced a wildly successful Initial Public Offering (IPO).
After all of this, there is no wonder why many believe that Ramaswamy’s presidential endeavor is just another one of his cons. In recent interviews, MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton and Mehdi Hasan have separately and valiantly tried to pin down the articulate equivocator. But getting past Ramaswamy’s verbal jiu-jitsu is a feat in and of itself. Both did more than credible jobs, but undressing the emperor will matter little to the MAGA base.
When all is said and done, most of us can agree that Ramaswamy isn’t running for President. His goal is to be Trump’s running mate, while knee-capping Ron DeSantis. Given the alternatives and the positive feedback that the former guy has offered Ramaswamy, the number two spot on the ticket isn’t off the table. And therein lies the rub. Nothing should unnerve us more than a President Trump and a Vice President Ramaswamy. The thought alone has me wanting to prepare a “Go Bag.”
