Vivek Ramaswamy, who has seen a drastic surge in the polls since the first Republican primary debate, criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by saying his campaign is run by donors.
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“The donor class of the Republican Party fundamentally disapproves of the message that I delivered on that stage,” Ramaswamy told journalist Glenn Greenwald. “It’s the one thing that’s holding Ron DeSantis back. Right — cause his campaign is run by his Super PAC — which is extremely well funded.”
Ramaswamy hit out at DeSantis, who was the only candidate on Wednesday’s debate stage who polled higher than he did. Ramaswamy has claimed that the 2024 primary will be a “two horse race between Trump and myself,” but DeSantis is polling nationally at 14%, compared to Ramaswamy’s 7.1%.
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Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump sits with a commanding lead on both candidates, polling at 56% nationally, according to the RealClear Politics average.
While Ramaswamy’s criticism was targeted specifically at DeSantis, the presidential candidate and biotech millionaire also hit out at everyone else, saying, “the rest of the field, as I said on the stage and made a lot of people mad, is bought and paid for by the donor class.”
Prior to Wednesday night’s debate, Ramaswamy was a relative unknown, garnering a small, but potent, following on social media. His campaign was beginning to pick up steam in the weeks prior to the debate.
However, his performance at the debate itself led former President Trump to declare him the winner of the debate on Truth Social. Ramaswamy also garnered significant interest across the country, with his Google Trends “peak popularity” data beating out all other candidates.
