Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has gone public with his feud with fellow Indian American Republican presidential aspirant Nikki Haley saying he has a “fundamental ideological divide” with her.
Haley, the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet as US ambassador to the UN under former President Donald Trump and Ramaswamy have both qualified for the fourth Republican presidential primary debate. The two clashed publicly during the last two of the three Republican primary debates, all boycotted by the frontrunner Trump.
“I think there’s a fundamental ideological divide. She represents an older generation of Republicans,” Ramaswamy, 38, told Fox News in an interview on Monday about Haley.
READ: Nikki Haley beats all the boys in third Republican debate (November 9, 2023)
“She talks a lot about how we need a new generation of leadership. I agree with her. It’s just that she’s on the wrong side of that generational divide, taking us back to the Dick Cheney era, pointless wars that wasted $7 trillion of national debt that we accumulated, thousands of America’s sons and daughters of lives sacrificed, people my age,” Ramaswamy said.
“That’s a mistake. I think that anybody who has made money off those wars, people who have been part of the establishment, joining military contractors, monetizing their time in government, I don’t care if that’s the Biden corruption family or if it’s a Republican version of that, which is what I see in Nikki Haley. It’s wrong,” he said.
READ: Vivek Ramaswamy to seek “No WW3” pledge from appointees (November 8, 2023)
“So, I’m calling that out. The establishment doesn’t appreciate that very much. But I think we deserve somebody who is not just a puppet of the special interests, but somebody who’s independent, coming in from the outside…,” he said in response to a question.
“I will be there, and I will be similarly unrestrained, as I was in the last debate as well. That’s what our base is hungry for. They want the truth. They don’t want professional politicians with talking points.”
READ: Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy clash over Israel-Hamas war (October 15, 2023)
“So, yes, I have qualified. I will be there. And I don’t think that we’re going to disappoint people by hiding behind some shell. I’m going to be pretty open. And that’s what people are hungry for,” Ramaswamy said in response to another question.
Describing himself as the best person to lead the country, Ramaswamy said: “I’m a CEO. I come from outside of this broken world of politics. Forget the slogans. Prices are going up. Interest rates and mortgages are going up, but wages have remained flat. That’s why people are upset and feel the pain.”
READ: Vivek Ramaswamy’s odd plan to slash federal jobs amuses critics (November 13, 2023)
“Now, how do we do this? Increase the supply of everything. Increase the supply of energy. Deregulate the sector, so we can drill and frack. Increase the supply of housing. Forget the land use restrictions. That brings the cost of housing down. That grows the economy. Increase the supply of labour. Stop paying people more money to stay at home, instead of going to work,” he said.
“Then I have been a CEO, I can tell you, zero-based budgeting is the way to go. Don’t use last year’s budget as the baseline, that broken budget from last year, and then try to tweak it. Start with zero as the baseline and ask what’s actually necessary,” Ramaswamy said.
“Nobody in either party is doing it. No single state in the country does it. It’s going to take a businessman coming in from the outside. I don’t think many Republicans and certainly most Democrats do (understand the economy). That’s what it’s going to take, is basic change…,” he said.
READ: Vivek Ramaswamy and Ro Khanna clash over the American dream (November 3, 2023)
Meanwhile, a leading backer of Tim Scott, who dropped out of the Republican primary on Sunday is co-hosting a high-end fundraiser for Nikki Haley in New York City on Dec 4, according to Politico.
Eric Levine, a New York-based donor who was raising money for Scott, the South Carolina senator, is listed among the eight people hosting the for Haley, who has been on the upswing in the party primary, it reported citing an invitation obtained by it.
Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy clash over Israel-Hamas war(October 15, 2023)
Levine had told reporters he was stunned by Scott’s decision and would be backing Haley, the former governor of South Carolina.
The invitation also lists Campbell Brown, a former NBC anchor and CNN host. Brown is married to Dan Senor, a Republican strategist who works for hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer at Elliott Investment Management L.P. Other hosts include Betsie and Bill Berrien, Annie Dickerson, Terry Kassel, Simone Levinson and Michael Santini.
Haley is expected to attend the fundraiser for her Super PAC, Team Stand For America, according to the invitation. Couples are being asked to contribute up to $33,200 and individuals are being asked to give as much as $16,600.