WASHINGTON/LONDON
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Indian-American 2024 US presidential aspirant from the Republican party, has hinted that he may run on a joint ticket with former president Donald Trump as his running mate if he does not win the Republican nomination. Ramaswamy’s comments come days after the 38-year-old entrepreneur-turned-politician said he was “not interested” in any job other than president.
Ramaswamy said he believed he could only “reunite this country” as president, but did not rule out running with 77-year-old Trump as vice president if the former president and frontrunner wins the nomination for a third time. Asked on British national television whether he would be “happy to be (Trump’s) VP”, Ramaswamy replied: “See, this isn’t about me. If this were about me, sure. That’s a fine position for someone to have at my age. “This is about reviving our country and I can only reunite this country if I’m doing it from the White House as the leader and the face of our movement.” He added that he had “fresh legs” and was “almost half [Trump’s] age”, but would ask him to serve as “my most valued adviser” in the White House.
Rumours of a joint ticket between the two men in the 2024 race were fanned by the Trump campaign’s praise for Ramaswamy after the first Republican primary debate on Wednesday, in which he emerged as a breakout star. A self-declared “outsider” who has no experience as an elected official has pledged to pardon Trump for any federal convictions on “day one” of his presidency and continue his legacy in the White House with an “America First 2.0” agenda. In previous interviews, Ramaswamy had denied becoming the former president’s running mate, insisting that he could only change the country if he won the top job. “I’m not interested in a different position in the government. Frankly, I’d drive change through the private sector sooner than becoming number two or three in the federal government,” he said on Saturday.