Rising GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy preaches 'truth' campaign at Iowa State Fair

Ohio biotech entrepreneur and rising Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy believes in certain self-subscribed truths.

He brandished a white ballcap with the singular word "Truth" stitched on it, waving it at the audience of the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox Saturday at the Iowa State Fair.

Those truths: God is real. Parents should determine the education of their children. Capitalism lifts people up from poverty. Fossil fuels are requirements for human prosperity, and that even as extreme weather happens more often, the country should unapologetically burn more coal and oil.

"What we got to do is close the gap between what people are saying in public and what are willing to say online. We've got to close that gap," Ramaswamy said. "The only way we're gonna do it is to speak openly. Speak the truth. We can handle the truth."

His message has appeared to have found a foothold.

A national average calculated by statistical analysis group FiveThirtyEight.com shows Ramaswamy in third place with 6.7% of support from voters in polls dating back to Aug. 3, behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Forbes estimated 37-year-old Ramaswamy has a net worth of $630 million. He opened his campaign this summer by proposing to raise the minimum U.S. voting age from 18 to 25.

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Many of the positions advocated by Ramaswamy, author of "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam," are similar to those of DeSantis.

He also is an avowed admirer of Trump. In a Sioux City appearance in June, he pledged that if elected, he would pardon the former president, after Trump was indicted on 37 counts of illegally keeping national defense documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House, and conspiring to obstruct justice by hiding them from federal authorities.

Will Vivek Ramaswamy accept anything other than the presidential nomination?

Large crowds of people swarmed Ramaswamy as he roamed the fairgrounds, stopping him constantly for pictures or a conversation.

While walking in the shade near the Anne & Bill Riley Stage at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Ramaswamy said he thinks he eventually will overtake DeSantis, leaving himself in a one-on-one battle with Trump.

"I think the two relevant candidates are going to be pretty quickly Trump and myself," Ramaswamy said. "We're the party of the outsider, and it's going to be a choice between two outsiders with very different attributes."

As Ramaswamy walked between the poultry building and an ice cream stop with Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig, several fairgoers asked him if he would accept a potential vice president nomination by Trump.

"I think I'd be a better president," he said while strolling down Grand Avenue around 11 a.m. Saturday.

During the Register's Soapbox, a woman asked if he would accept the position of vice president if he didn't secure the GOP nomination, Ramaswamy joked that Donald Trump would do "pretty well" as a vice president for him.

During a press conference after his Soapbox appearance, Ramaswamy said again said that he is focused on winning the GOP nomination and not securing a cabinet position or a vice-presidential nomination.

"If I were building a political career, of course, I would do that," Ramaswamy said. "I'm not building a political career. I'm not a politician. I don't do well in a number two position."

Iowa voter looking for an 'outsider' committed to Ramaswamy

Matt Parks, 40, of Granger, waited at around 9 p.m. Friday for Ramaswamy at a meet and greet at Jalapeño Pete's within the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Parks wore one of Ramaswamy's black "TRUTH." hats.

He likes candidates who are outsiders like Ramaswamy, Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Candidate tracker:Where and when are presidential candidates visiting Iowa?

Throughout the summer, many voters have said they like Ramaswamy, but think he is inexperienced and would make a better vice president or presidential cabinet member at the moment. But Parks said he is supporting Ramaswamy for president.

"He's got an outsider perspective, and maybe like RFK Jr. he can bring something new to the Republican Party," Parks said. "

Parks had not seen Ramaswamy speak before. He simply went to hear what the candidate told voters.

"He's different," Parks said. "He's very persuasive. I don't know who I'd vote for, but I'd drop RFK, Trump and Vivek."

Katie Howard, 67, of Ottumwa said she supported Trump in the past. But she is supporting Ramaswamy over Trump because she is worried that the criminal investigations into his conduct could divide the country.

“I’m worried about a four-year vendetta from Trump," Howard said. "I’ve watched what happened since 2020. I don’t like it. I don’t like negativity. I like positive outlooks, and Vivek has got that.”

She loves Ramaswamy because he, “Is articulate, he is radiant, he actually has a plan,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican, is declining to endorse a candidate in GOP the field.

"He clearly brings a ton of positive energy to the campaign trail," Nunn said. "I love the fact that he can talk everything from policy to foreign governance and the answer is literate in technology. I think that goes a long way for whoever is going to be the next leader of the free world."

Nunn joked that on at Friday's Jalapeno Pete's event, Ramaswamy "bought a round for all of Des Moines." Ramaswamy is engaging many young voters, Nunn said.

"I'm excited to see that he's bringing out the next generation," Nunn said. "When you get a young generation engaged with a philosophy or a candidate style they like, a lot of them stick with them for their entire life. Talk to anybody my age or older and they'll tell you about the good old days of (Ronald) Reagan."

Ramaswamy dodges climate questions, focuses on fossil fuels

Ramaswamy is a staunch supporter of fossil fuels. In the past, he has called out green energy industries. During Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Fair-Side Chat Saturday morning, Ramaswamy said again,” The climate change industry is a hoax.”

July was the hottest month on earth in 120,000 years of recorded history, according to Scientific American. And the 2020 derecho produced peak wind gusts of 140 mph and flattened parts of eastern Iowa including Cedar Rapids.

Iowa State Climatologist said after the Dec. 15, 2021, derecho spawned 63 tornadoes — a record for any day in recorded Iowa history — that as the climate warms, extreme weather events are happening more often in Iowa.

In recent years, Iowa has seen flooding caused by higher-intensity rainfall coupled with droughts. While 2018 was the second-wettest year in 149 years of record-keeping, for example, a drought also gripped southeastern Iowa.

"We're seeing these conditions co-mingle," Glisan said in December 2021.

During a press conference after his Soapbox speech, Ramaswamy said that global temperatures are going up by "a little bit" and that man-made causes are likely the cause.

"Is that an existential risk to humanity?" Ramaswamy asked. "It is absolutely not."

Instead, he said as president, he will embrace fossil fuels.

"We're abandoning the anti-carbon agenda in this country," Ramaswamy said. "We will drill more, we will frack more, we will burn more coal, we will use ethanol, we will use nuclear energy without apologizing for who we are as Americans."

Vivek Ramaswamy doubles down on eliminating 'three-letter' organizations

Ramaswamy has committed to "shutting down" the federal government and eliminating federal agencies like the FBI, IRS and Department of Education. While being interviewed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Saturday morning, Ramaswamy committed again to downsizing the federal government.

"We do face a choice in this primary," Ramaswamy said during the Soapbox appearance. "The choice is this — do you want incremental reform? Or do you want revolutions?"

Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at ALathers@registermedia.com.

Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.