Ramaswamy is proud of being an outsider. A 20-year-old video shows him questioning Al Sharpton's experience
Entrepreneur and presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy brushed off a video that resurfaced and quickly went viral, showing him questioning the wisdom of voting for a candidate “with the least political experience.”
The video shows Ramaswamy at 18 at an event at Harvard University. Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews was interviewing Rev. Al Sharpton, who was running for president at the time, and Sharpton was also taking questions from audience members.
“Last week on the show we had Senator Kerry, and the week before we had Senator Edwards. And my question to you is: of all the Democratic candidates out there, why should I vote for the one with the least political experience,” Ramaswamy asked, referencing former Democratic Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards.
“Well you shouldn’t because I have the most political experience,” Sharpton joked back, touting his involvement in political movements since he was a child.
The moment quickly raised eyebrows on social media as it began to circulate. Since Ramaswamy launched his campaign, he has touted himself as a political outsider in the crowded field of Republican candidates.
"I think that another establishment or career politician that's reciting poll tested slogans has no chance of not only defeating Donald Trump but coming anywhere close to Donald Trump," Ramaswamy told Paste BN earlier this year.
The entrepreneur shared the nearly 20-year-old clip on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, saying he would give “the 18-year-old version of myself a pat-on-the-back for eliciting the most sensible words ever to come from that man’s mouth.”
“20 years later, it’s funny how the tables have turned,” he admitted.
It's not the first clip from Ramaswamy's past that has spread during his presidential campaign.
Video has also circulated of him rapping along to the song "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. He has rapped to the song on the campaign trail, though Eminem has objected to the Republican candidate using his music.