‘Annoyed by my rise’: Vivek Ramaswamy explains why people find him ‘annoying’

Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican presidential hopeful, who has grabbed eyeballs during the primaries with his public appearances and policies, has said that people find him “annoying” because they are unhappy with his rise and believe that such a young person should not be aiming for the presidency. Ramaswamy has been a controversial figure because of the policies he pitches. More recently, he said that he would “gut” the H-1B visa. 

In an interview with ‘Fox News Sunday’, Ramaswamy was asked by host Shannon Bream what he thought of the most common descriptor for him being “annoying”. “We have been taking intense criticism, Shannon, over the last several weeks since I performed well on that second debate, and this is part of the process. So, I invite the open debate,” he said. 

Ramaswamy then continued: "The reality is many people are annoyed by my rise and believe that a 38-year-old is too young to be US president." The presidential hopeful then cited the example of Thomas Jefferson who was 33 years-old when he wrote the US Declaration of Independence. “He also invented the swivel chair while he was at it, by the way,” he added. 

Vivek Ramaswamy said this spirit needs to be revived and it will take someone “whose best days are ahead” to see a country whose best days are yet to come. He said that he believes that the US can see the best days still ahead and highlighted the importance of having a vision of their own.

The Republican recently in a statement said that the lottery system for the H-1B visas needs to be replaced by “actual meritocratic admission”. He called it a form of indentured servitude that only benefits the company. 

Ten Republican candidates were aiming to win their party’s nomination to take on Democratic US President Joe Biden who would be seeking re-election in the presidential elections in November 2024. Apart from Vivek Ramaswamy, other candidates in the fray are Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum and Will Hurd. 

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