Vivek Ramaswamy has definitely been one of the more interesting candidates in the 2024 Republican field, especially in comparison to Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, and Mike Pence. He says a lot of good things and has not been shy about going on a number of platforms. However, he’s also a candidate that doesn’t hold up to even mild scrutiny. At the Family Leadership Summit, Ramaswamy omitted his condemnation of Trump for J6. Additionally, his credibility on the life issue is highly suspect given his Big Pharma background. It’s unclear when he stopped being a Branch Covidian, as well.
Americans are unlikely to vote for a Hindu candidate but Republicans nominated a Mormon in 2012 which is similarly illogical. However, Vivek Ramaswamy dresses his religious beliefs in Christian language in order to communicate with Evangelicals. At the aforementioned Family Leadership Summit, Ramaswamy invoked CS Lewis to talk about the emptiness that people feel. So his game is good. However there is religious practice of Vivek Ramaswamy that does not jive with cultural Christianity the same way invoking CS Lewis does. Ramaswamy is a vegetarian.
Vivek Ramaswamy says he believes it's wrong to kill animals for "culinary pleasure" (i.e. eating them). What do you think? pic.twitter.com/hCFxXD7hB4
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 24, 2023
I don’t eat meat because I believe it is, in my tradition, morally wrong to kill animals solely for culinary pleasure.
Vegetarianism naturally does not go well with conservatism’s meat and potatoes culinary mindset, and this religious practice is completely alien to Christianity. As he employs a moral argument against eating meat found in some Hindu traditions, his façade of worshipping the same god as Christianity will likely erode in the public perception.
Polling is mixed on whether Vivek Ramaswamy is surging in the race or is just another social media phenomenon. He has campaigned well in Iowa, but it seems highly unlikely that Evangelicals in Iowa will back a Hindu candidate.
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