WASHINGTON, Dec 17: Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has said that “W-O-R-K” is his magical spell for luck as he participated in over 40 campaign stops last week, surpassing any other 2024 White House candidate.
During one of the many events held last week in Iowa, Ramaswamy tried to convince voters why he should be the Republican nominee instead of former President Donald Trump, who leads him by more than 50 points in most national polls.
By the end of Saturday, the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur participated in 42 campaign stops – more than any other 2024 candidate, USA Today newspaper reported.
He’ll keep up his rigorous timetable this week, hitting 38 events.
In a line he’s repeated in other public appearances, Ramaswamy said it all stems from a lesson learned from his parents.
“Here’s how you spell luck: W-O-R-K,” the newspaper quoted Ramaswamy as saying.
“It’s always been a formula that has worked for me in my life be it in my academic background, be it as a student, be it in my career, as a businessman and now on this journey,” he said.
While he acknowledges there is a “logistically gruelling element” to his schedule, the 38-year-old Ramaswamy is campaigning caffeine-free.
He said he stayed motivated by the energy of the crowds in Iowa, the first state to hear from voters next month, as he blitzes crucial early battlegrounds.
“I’m confident that’s going to be the right way to get elected – not being insulated from the people who are representing, but in many ways, being responsive to the people we’re representing,” Ramaswamy, the self-proclaimed outsider, said.
“I’d rather spend time with these caucusgoers and Pizza Ranches across the state, rather than being a cloistered mega-donor retreat,” he said.
Ramaswamy, a Yale law school graduate with a net worth of about USD 630 million, is running his campaign like he’s run his businesses – with very little time off.
Anson Frericks, who co-founded the company Strive Asset Management with Ramaswamy early last year, told the newspaper there’s no time for rest in the businessman’s schedule.
“There’s no one that I’ve ever met that gets up in the morning, works out while he’s taking phone calls,” said Frericks, who’s known Ramaswamy since high school.
Ramaswamy worked 16 hours per day at Strive, Frericks said, and that work ethic culture “permeated” throughout the organisation.
Ramaswamy is juggling his presidential aspirations with fatherhood, and Frericks said he has been able to “seamlessly integrate” his professional life and family life on the campaign trail. (PTI)
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