Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who had earlier dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses, has now taken a dig at US President Joe Biden’s re-election bid, and said ad breaks should be used to bring in the actual Democratic candidate in the debates.
Ramaswami’s remarks came as the CNN-hosted debate between 81-year-old Biden and 78-year-old Trump ended on Thursday night (local time).
“The game is clearer now than ever: The Democrat Party tonight used an old man as a scapegoat,” Ramaswami told X.
He added, “They should use the ad break to bring up the actual Democratic candidate.”
Criticizing Biden for his presidential candidacy and his performance during Thursday night’s debate, Ramaswami said, “The only time Biden came close to liveliness in the debate was when he was talking about Trump’s conviction and J6. He doesn’t seem to care about the things Americans really care about.”
He added, “They did not drug Biden. Instead, they lobotomized him.”
Ramaswamy, himself a White House contender, said he was “appalled by Biden’s brain-dead performance” in the presidential debate.
“The fact that anyone is surprised by Biden’s brain-dead performance tonight is a scathing indictment of the media, which has gone to great lengths to conceal this fact from the public,” Ramaswamy said.
On many analysts calling for him to replace Biden as the Democrats’ candidate, the Indian-American entrepreneur recalled how everyone termed his message to the Democratic Party that Biden was ending their candidacy as a “conspiracy theory”.
“When I called on Biden to end his candidacy last year, the media dismissed it as a “conspiracy theory.” 8 months later, they are calling for it themselves,” Ramaswami wrote on X.
According to CNN News estimates, Ramaswami finished fourth in Iowa, far behind Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
The Iowa caucus victory was seen as the first step toward Donald Trump securing the Republican nomination for a third consecutive election.
President Joe Biden launched his 2023 re-election campaign in April, calling the contest between himself and Trump a “tough choice” for voters between the continuation of democracy in the US and its potential “destruction” under Trump.
He is the oldest president ever elected and will be 86 at the end of his second term. Polling shows that voters are far more concerned about Biden’s age than his opponent. But if Trump wins, he will break Biden’s record as the oldest president before the end of his term.
Meanwhile, Trump has launched his bid to reclaim the White House in November 2022. His goal is to reclaim the White House after his bitter resignation in 2020, as he hopes to become only the second commander-in-chief to win two non-consecutive terms in office.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)