Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent attempt to rap on television got the Republican presidential hopeful roasted by some on social media.
Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old biotech multimillionaire, appeared on Fox News’ program “Fox & Friends” on Thursday, answering questions about his past in college as a “libertarian freestyler” who went by “Da Vek.” Ramaswamy gave host Steve Doocy a taste of his former hobby.
“My name’s Vivek. It rhymes with cake. It ain’t about thee. It isn’t about me. It is about the, the United States is about liberty. So ‘Fox & Friends,’ join us on the trail. We’ll have some fun. I’ll see you at the trail,” the candidate rapped.
Ramaswamy, an Indian American from Ohio, announced his 2024 presidential campaign in February. During the interview, he said he’s been “freestylin’ my message” on the campaign trail. It was not so well received by some viewers.
A headline on Mediaite proclaimed in parenthesis “He’s Not Great.”
A person posting on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, called the candidate “embarrassing.”
“I’m glad young people are having fun with it—good to see young people engaged in the political process,” Ramaswamy’s senior adviser and communications director Tricia McLaughlin said. “Vivek was also an amateur standup comedian for a time, he follows his passions and is fearless in doing so!”
One TikToker weighed in on Ramaswamy’s bars, noting he rhymed “trail” with “trail.” She jokingly suggesting he could have used the line, “my bid will ultimately fail” instead.
Ramaswamy previously spoke about his love of rap, telling Politico in an article published Wednesday that he was inspired by rapper Eminem. He said he often performed Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” at college open mics and experimented with lyrics that touched on libertarian themes. Ramaswamy said he had been moved by the Detroit artist’s rags-to-riches past.
“I saw myself, honestly, making it big through American capitalism, and that’s why the Eminem story spoke to me,” he told Politico.
Ramaswamy is polling in third place nationally in the Republican primary field, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average. Running as an “anti-woke” champion, Ramaswamy has drawn debate for railing against affirmative action and once calling himself a “nonwhite nationalist.”