Indian-American Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is reportedly planning to announce his 2024 United States presidential bid, and may join Nikki Haley, who formally launched her campaign on Wednesday, 15 February.
The 37-year-old millionaire has embarked on test runs and fact-finding missions in the American state of Iowa, where he has also addressed multiple events, local media reports said.
He confirmed his campaign intentions and told USA Today Network, "Yes, I am strongly considering it."
Politico reported that southwest Ohio's Ramaswamy is exploring a potential campaign that focussed on “revitalising the American spirit and bringing back a culture of merit into society”.
“If you ask people in my generation what it means to be an American, you get a blank stare in response. I’m on a mission to deliver an answer to that question. We need to revive the basic ideas that set this nation into motion merely 250 years ago," he said.
Speaking to Politico, Ramaswamy said that he believes that he has developed a vision for an "American national identity," which is a product of his own journey "of having lived the gifts" that the US offered him.
“And the combination of both doing it intellectually and having personally experienced that vision of our nation makes me well suited to articulate that and deliver on it,” he added.
Moreover, Ramaswamy insisted that the trip to Iowa and other prep work he has undertaken for a potential bid are serious and said that it is "not a play for attention."
Firstpost reported that Ramaswamy, the executive chairman asset management firm Strive, has also assembled a team of close to 20 people to assist him with his presidential ambitions.
In 2014, Ramaswamy had founded Roivant Sciences, a pharmaceutical research company where he made hundreds of millions of dollars.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)