How Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy hit back after being ridiculed at first Republican debate

The first Republican presidential debate was dramatic. Yes, even without the ultimate showman - former US president Donald Trump. The eight contestants launched into frenzied talks throughout that time. From questioning morality to mocking their promises, Vivek Ramaswamy was in for a lot of attention at the debate held in Milwaukee last night. The Indian-American entrepreneur seemed to outshine seasoned opponents at the debate, taking the most jabs and even answering back in equal measure. An analogy with former US president Barack Obama that was sparked by his own introduction was one of the debate debutant’s highlights. Let’s take a look. Also read: Who is Vivek Ramaswamy, the 37-year-old Indian-origin CEO running for US president in 2024? The Barack Obama jibe Chris Christie, a fellow candidate and the former governor of New Jersey, referred to the 38-year-old as a “amateur” Barack Obama. The insult was related to Ramaswamy’s self-introduction as a “skinny guy with a funny last name,” which many people found similar of the former US president. He has even received criticism on social media for “plagiarising Obama.” Ramaswamy said, “Let me just address the question that is on everybody’s mind at home tonight. Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name, and what the heck is he doing in the middle of this debate stage?” [caption id=“attachment_13036562” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley raise their hands in response to a question if they would support the eventual party nominee during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel. AP[/caption] “I’ll tell you, I’m not a politician. You’re right about that. I’m an entrepreneur. My parents came to this country with no money 40 years ago. I have gone on to found multi-billion dollar companies. That is the American dream. And I am genuinely worried that that American dream will not exist for our two sons and their generations unless we do something about it.” “Hold on, I’ve had enough of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT today,” Christie muttered later in the debate in response to the remark. Ramaswamy’s remark that the climate change agenda is a hoax prompted his response. “He stands up here, and the last person in one of these debates, Brett, who stood in the middle of the stage and said, ‘What’s a skinny guy with an odd last name doing up here’ was Barack Obama. And I’m afraid we’re dealing with the same type of amateur tendencies tonight,” the 60-year-old said. Ramaswamy criticised Christie for waging a campaign “based on vengeance and grievance” against Trump in a scathing statement. In reference to Obama, he shot back, “Give me a hug like you did to Obama, and you’ll help elect me just like you did to Obama. Give me the damn hug, brother.” Days before the 2012 presidential election, after Hurricane Sandy, Chris Christie came under fire for allegedly hugging Obama. Christie strongly denied ever having done so. “I didn’t hug him,” the Republican insisted and stuck to it over the years. Also read: First Republican presidential debate: Who came out on top? Who lost out? Vivek Ramaswamy VS Mike Pence On stage with Ramaswamy were the governors of North Dakota and Arkansas, as well as the former governors of New Jersey and New Jersey, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, and Mike Pence, and the senator from South Carolina, Tim Scott. Ramaswamy said that he was the “only person on stage who is not bought and paid for.” He ranked second in the most recent polls behind Trump. Pence, who has worked in the political system for many years, called Ramaswamy a “rookie” and claimed that the US has “no time for on-the-job training.” “Look, Joe Biden has weakened this country at home and abroad. Now is not the time for on-the-job training. We don’t need to bring in a rookie, we don’t need to bring in people without experience,” he said. “Vivek, you recently said a president can’t do everything. Well, I’ve got news for you, Vivek. I have been in the hallway. I have been in the West Wing. The president of the United States has to confront every crisis facing America,” Pence said in another dig at Ramaswamy’s lack of political experience. Ramaswamy responded by saying that a “real discussion” could start when the senior politician finished using “prepared slogans,” which led to a back-and-forth. Pence responded, “We don’t have an identity crisis, Vivek,” after the entrepreneur claimed that the US was experiencing a “national identity crisis.” No new national identity is desired by us. The two clashed again during an exchange on crime. Taking a swipe at Pence, Ramaswamy said, “Some others like you on this stage may have an, ‘It’s morning in America speech.’ It is not morning in America. We live in a dark moment and we have to confront the fact that we’re in an internal sort of cold cultural civil war and we have to recognise that.” Even President Joe Biden reacted to Ramaswamy’s comment on climate change. “Climate change is real, by the way,” the president posted on X. Ramaswamy VS Haley Ramaswamy also argued with former UN ambassador Haley on US assistance to Ukraine. “This is disastrous… we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else’s border when we should use those same military resources to prevent the invasion across our southern border here in the United States of America,” Ramaswamy said at the Fox News debate. “We need to secure our own border instead of somebody else’s,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_13036582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speak during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel. AP[/caption] During one of the most heated arguments of the evening, Haley fired back, accusing him of “wanting to hand Ukraine to Russia” and added, “You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.” Also read: How Vivek Ramaswamy is winning over Donald Trump supporters “Badge of honour” After the debate, Ramaswamy claimed he “took it as a badge of honour” that he was the one being targeted by the establishment politicians, adding that “at least three to four different politicians had their fire trained on me.”

“I think I did benefit from frankly, the fact that the other folks on the stage seem very threatened by me,” Ramaswamy said, according to NBC, when asked if he benefitted from Trump’s absence. Takeaways The only other woman in the race thus far, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, was the other Indian-American on the Republican presidential debate stage in addition to Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy unleashed more attacks than any other performer, according to an NBC News tracker, and he also took more hits than any of his competitors. In an aggressive turn, Ramaswamy sought to set himself apart from his rivals. He claimed to be the only contender unaffected by special interests and purposely positioned himself as the outsider. In a heated exchange, he called his rivals “super PAC puppets” who used scripted slogans to damage his campaign. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, put on a dismal performance despite being the debate’s projected centre of attention. “Vivek clearly showed that he wanted to be up there and that he wanted to be a part of it and took the opportunity that was presented to him and really made a fight for it,” Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump, told NBC News, adding, “It was literally a debate between the former vice president, Vivek, and occasionally Nikki and Chris Christie. And everybody else was sort of an afterthought.” Ramaswamy was jokingly referred to as the “missile” Christie was supposed to be on stage, according to Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a supporter of Trump. “The Chris Christie campaign is [what] everybody thought was like the Kamikaze campaign,” he said. “But it was Vivek [who] basically kind of took out Christie, survived the attack that went ahead and took out Mike Pence.” With inputs from agencies