Vivek Ramaswamy speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention , at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 16, 2024.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Milwaukee: Making his maiden appearance before the Republican National Convention, Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy has asked Americans to vote for former president Donald Trump to "revive national pride and reignite the economy".
Ramaswamy, 38, a former presidential aspirant who dropped off from the race in the early stages of the Republican primary, said Trump is the president who will unite America not through empty words but through action.
“If you want to seal the border, vote Trump. If you want to restore law and order, vote Trump. If you want to reignite our economy, vote for Trump. If you want to revive national pride, vote for Trump. If you want to make America great again, vote for Trump,” he said.
Ramaswamy's fiery speech attracted multiple standing ovations and the biggest applause from the thousands of delegates and party leaders who have gathered in this city to nominate Trump as their nominee for the November 5 presidential election.
“Success is unifying, excellence is unifying, that's who we are as Americans, that's who we have always been,” he said. “We are the country where we can disagree like hell and still get together at the dinner table at the end of it. That is the America I know. That is the America we miss," he said as his speech electrified the crowd.
“If you disagree with everything I say then our message to you is this - we will still defend your right to say it because that is who we are as Americans. We are a country where we can disagree like hell and still get together at the dinner table at the end of it. That is what it means to be an American,” said the Indian-American biotech entrepreneur.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised Ramswamy's speech on X.
“Well said,” Elon Musk said on the social media platform.
In his electrifying speech that lasted about seven minutes, Ramaswamy said here is a message the media doesn’t want them to hear from the Republican Party.
“To black Americans: the media has tried to convince you for decades that Republicans don’t care about your communities. We want for you what we want for every American: safe neighbourhoods, clean streets, good jobs, a better life for your children, and a justice system that treats everyone equally – regardless of your skin colour or your political beliefs,” he said.
“To every legal immigrant: you’re like my parents. You deserve the opportunity to secure a better life for your children in America. To Gen Z: you’re going to be the generation that actually saves our country. You want to be a rebel? Try calling yourself a conservative. Say you want to get married, have kids, and teach them to pledge allegiance to your country,” said Ramaswamy.
He said faith, patriotism, hard work, and family have disappeared and been replaced by race, gender, sexuality and climate.
"But we’re not going to win this election by just criticising the other side. We’re going to win this by standing for our own vision,” he said.
“We need to ask ourselves: what does it mean to be a Republican - what does it mean to be an American in the year 2024? It means we believe in the ideals of 1776. Merit. The rule of law. That the people we elect to run the government should be the ones who actually run the government. These aren’t black ideas or white ideas. They aren’t even red ideas or blue ideas. They are American ideals that we fought a revolution to secure. The man who will revive those ideals is your next President: Donald J. Trump,” Ramaswamy said, referring to the Declaration of Independence during American revolution.
1776 has repeatedly been invoked on the campaign trail by Ramaswamy.