Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy, a candidate running for GOP nomination for US Presidency, has said that people are annoyed by his success and are of the view that a 38-year-old is too young to become the president of the US, reported the news agency PTI. It added that many opinion polls suggest an increase in Ramaswamy's popularity. The latest one shows that he is 12 points up since his performance last month.
However, PTI stated that with his rising admiration among others, criticism also increased against him.
"Well, look, we have been taking intense criticism, Shannon, over the last several weeks since I performed well on that second debate. And this is part of the process, so I invite the open debate," Ramaswamy told Fox News in an interview, as quoted by PTI.
He added, "The reality is many people are annoyed by my rise and believe that a 38-year-old is too young to be US President. The fact of the matter is Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old when he wrote the US Declaration of Independence. He also invented the swivel chair while he was at it, by the way."
This comes days after a Business Insider report claimed that his former coworkers called him a neurotic, mercurial, and paranoid leader.
Meanwhile, in the interview, Ramaswamy called for reviving spirit. He said: "And I believe, it will take someone whose best days ahead are still yet ahead in life to see a country whose best days are still yet ahead of itself. And I do believe that the United States of America can see our best days still yet ahead. But we can't just be running from something".
"I don't actually criticize the radical Biden agenda that much because I think it's the wrong place to focus. Of course, there's a lot to criticize. But we have to offer a vision of our own, not just what are we running from? What are we running to, revive meritocracy, the pursuit of excellence, economic growth, free speech, open debate. These are basic values that most Americans still agree with," he added as quoted by PTI.
"That's why I'm confident that we have a chance to deliver a 1980-style, Ronald Reagan-style, moral mandate. That is how we'll unite this country. And I'm in this race because I think I am the single best positioned candidate to do it. And even though we've taken criticisms from basically nearly every other candidate that's been threatened by my rise, I'm not running against any of them. I am running for this country. That's the mission we're guided by," Ramaswamy was further quoted as saying.
Notably, the first poll that came out after the debate mentioned that 28 per cent of the 504 respondents said that Ramaswamy performed the best. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was second with 27 per cent, and former vice president Mike Pence (13 per cent). Another Indian-American candidate in the run, Nikki Haley, received seven per cent of the votes.