Meet Vivek Ramaswamy: the standout GOP star of the first Republican debate is a married father of two who’s Ivy League educated and likes rapping to Eminem

Vivek Ramaswamy has been running for president for six months, but for many Americans, Wednesday night’s primary debate was the first big introduction to him.

The 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur slammed seasoned presidential candidates, wrestled with former Vice President Mike Pence over the issue of freshness versus experience, and tangled with ex-UN ambassadors. Nikki Haley on the war in Ukraine and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by calling him a “super PAC doll.”

The fast-talking Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Indian immigrant parents. His father worked for General Electric as an engineer and patent attorney, while his mother worked as a geriatric psychiatrist.

He speaks during the campaign about how having his parents married gave him an edge and he continued that in his own personal life, being the father of two boys – Karthik and Arjun – with his wife Apoorva.

Ramaswamy has an Ivy League education, goes on to study at Harvard and goes to law school at Yale where he met Apoorva while she was studying medicine.

Vivek Ramaswamy has degrees from both Harvard and Yale, attended Harvard, and then earned a law degree from Yale. He is the son of two Indian immigrants and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio

In his youth, the now Republican presidential candidate had a libertarian orientation – and he even conveyed that message through music.

Ramaswamy had a stage name, Da Vek, and rapped – mostly on Eminem covers.

He showed off those skills on stage at the Iowa State Fair at an event hosted by Republican Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

He cheekily told DailyMail.com prior to the big debate that he would “consider” rapping on stage.

The debate started when Fox News’ Bret Baier pointed out that Ramaswamy had only voted in two presidential elections, despite being eligible to vote in five.

While making a fortune in the biotech industry, Ramaswamy admitted to being politically ambivalent.

He voted for the Libertarian on the ballot in the 2004 presidential election while in college, and cast a vote for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Vivek Ramaswamy works to a roomful of Iowa voters in Des Moines shortly after announcing his presidential bid in February

Despite having no previous experience in government, Ramaswamy laid the groundwork for his presidential candidacy in a fairly traditional way: by writing books.

In August 2021, he published Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam, which became an instant New York Times bestseller.

He then published his second book, Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence, in September 2022.

His third book, Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street Is Using Your Money To Create A Country You Didn’t Vote For, came out in April.

In his writings, Ramaswamy criticizes the ‘awake’ culture and movements like ESG – environmental, social and corporate governance – arguing that companies should not mix politics with financial decisions.

These ideas quickly made him popular with the American right, and he announced his presidential bid on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show in February.

He spoke to DailyMail.com about his presidential run days later as he campaigned in Iowa, the state that is holding the first Republican caucus.

During the debate, Ramaswamy was asked by Baier why voters should choose a ‘clean slate’ like him.

“So first let me answer a question on everyone’s mind tonight: Who the hell is this skinny kid with a funny last name and what the hell is he doing in the middle of this debate phase?” Ramaswamy said. “I’ll tell you I’m not a politician. Right.’

‘You’re quite right. I’m an entrepreneur,” Ramaswamy added, before telling the audience about some of his backstory, including his experience of founding “multi-million dollar companies.”

He claimed that the experience of his rivals in government only hindered them.

Pence countered this by asking the crowd if they wanted someone who needed “on-the-job training.”

Later in the debate, when asked if President Joe Biden was 80 years old, the old Pence repeated this point, saying, “We don’t need a president who’s too old, we don’t need a president who’s too young.”

“Joe Biden has weakened this country at home and abroad,” the former vice president said. “We don’t need to bring in a rookie.”

Pence had previously emphasized the fact that as a former vice president — as well as an ex-governor and congressman — he was the most veteran Republican nominee on stage.

“You have people on this stage who don’t even want to talk about things like Social Security and Medicare. I mean Vivek, you said the other day that a president can’t do everything. Well, I have news for you, Vivek. I’ve been in a hallway, I’ve been in the West Wing. A president in the United States must face every crisis America faces,” Pence said.

Ramaswamy suggested that those who were previously in government had not tried hard enough.

“This isn’t that complicated, guys. Unlock US energy. Drilling, fracking, burning coal, embracing nuclear power. Put people back to work and pay them more than if they stayed home,” he said.

“So I’m not sure I understand my predecessor’s comment exactly, I’ll let you all analyze that,” Ramaswamy said of Pence. “For me it’s pretty simple, that’s something a focused American president can do and I’ll deliver on that.”

Pence interjected, “Let me explain… This time I’ll take it slow.”

Their tussle ended when it was DeSantis’ turn to answer a question.

The Florida governor played up his COVID record when he used phrases he often uses during campaigns.

“You don’t take someone like Fauci and coddle him. You bring in Fauci, put them down and say, “Hey, Anthony, you’re fired,” DeSantis said.

That gave Ramaswamy the chance to spank DeSantis as well.

“Now that everyone has memorized their pre-defined slogans, we can actually have a real discussion,” he said.

“Is that one of yours?” Pence asked.

“Not really Mike, we’re going to have some fun tonight,” Ramaswamy retorted.

“And the reality is you have some people, professional politicians, super-PAC puppets, following slogans handed to them by their 400-page super-PACs last week,” Ramaswamy continued.

He referenced DeSantis’ super PAC and left some debating tips on the top consultant’s website.

“The real choice we face in this primaries is this: do you want a super PAC doll or do you want a patriot who speaks the truth?” he asked. “Do you want gradual reforms, which you are hearing about now, or do you want a revolution?”

Christie didn’t want any of this.

Ramaswamy (right) made his debate debut Wednesday night by angrily going back and forth with former Vice President Mike Pence (left) and calling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (center) a “super PAC dummy.”

“I’ve had enough of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT standing here tonight,” the ex-Governor of New Jersey told the crowd. “The last person in one of these debates to stand in the middle of the stage and say, ‘What’s a skinny guy with a strange last name doing here?’ was Barack Obama.”

“And I’m afraid we’re dealing with the same type of amateur tonight,” Christie said.

Ramaswamy lashed out at Christie when the ex-governor denounced Trump’s conduct as “below the office of President of the United States.”

‘Let’s just speak the truth. Trump was the best president of the 21st century. Chris Christie, your claim that Donald Trump is motivated by revenge and displeasure would be more credible if your campaign were not based on revenge and displeasure against one man,” Ramaswamy said.

Christie slapped the 38-year-old again for his lack of experience.

“You never did it, just as you never did anything to further the interests of this government except run for office yourself. I did that as US Attorney and Governor. I’m not going to bow to anyone,’ Chrisie said.

Former UN ambassador. Nikki Haley sang a similar tune about Ramaswamy’s greenness as they got into an animated back-and-forth conversation about the war on Ukraine.

“You have no foreign policy and it shows!” she yelled at Ramaswamy when he signaled that he would debunk the war effort in Ukraine.

“Don’t do that to your friends,” she said. “You choose a murderer over a pro-American country,” pointing to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Haley was referring to the news of the day that the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed.

“I wish you the best of luck in your future career on the boards of Lockheed and Raytheon,” said Ramaswamy.