The next Trump: younger and to the right

Vivek Ramaswamy — the little-known biotech multimillionaire who jumped into the ’24 GOP presidential race — is auditioning to be the party’s next Donald Trump, with hyper-Trumpian positions on the border, voting, culture wars and more.

Why it matters: By running to the right of Trump, the 37-year-old entrepreneur seems to be positioning himself as heir apparent to the former president, 76. Ramaswamy is an understudy in plain sight —  and already mentioned as a plausible V.P. pick for Trump.

The intrigue: Trump, long known for bashing his opponents, not only hasn't criticized Ramaswamy — he's praised him.

• "I am pleased to see that Vivek Ramaswamy is doing so well in the most recent Republican Primary Poll," Trump posted last week on Truth Social, referring to a survey that showed Ramaswamy tied with former Vice President Mike Pence for third among GOP contenders.
• Trump could have been celebrating Ramaswamy's rise because it represents support that's not moving toward Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, Trump's chief rival.
• But there are signs of a possible Trump-Ramaswamy alliance: Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has spoken with a super PAC backing Ramaswamy about coming aboard — and had the conversation with Trump’s blessing, Politico reports.

State of play: Ramaswamy has cast himself as a post-Trumper who'll bend policies further right than Trump ever would.

• He hasn't criticized Trump much beyond equating him to Joe Biden for refusing to debate GOP opponents, but Ramaswamy often speaks of the former president in the past tense — and suggests he could deliver better results, without the baggage.
• "We can take the America First agenda even further than Trump because we will do it from a moral foundation," Ramaswamy told Axios in a recent interview.
• "He had his chance to do a lot of things" that were left undone, he said.
• "I think it's a mistaken concept that there's a body of this country that's loyal to a person — they're loyal to a country, most of them."

Driving the news: Ramaswamy's pleasant manner cloaks the sledgehammer he'd like to take to government agencies, policies and laws, and he talks of seizing power in a way no modern president has.

• He said one of his first acts as president would be to end affirmative action by executive order. The author of a book called "Woke, Inc." Ramaswamy is a vocal critic of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
• He wants to fire "half the federal workforce." Under rules meant to discourage partisan firings, most federal workers can be fired only in rare cases, but Ramaswamy says: "You can fire bureaucrats ... you're constitutionally empowered to do it.”
• He's called for shutting down the FBI and the IRS, as well as the Department of Education.

• Ramaswamy is preparing a proposal to disenfranchise millions of young voters by raising the voting age to 25. Those in the military, first responders, and people who pass a civics test would be able to vote at 18 under the plan, first reported by Politico. (Voters under 25 made up nearly 9% of the electorate in 2020; most backed Democrats.)
• He'd use the military to attack drug cartels in Mexico, and idea that also has intrigued Trump.
• He supports "merit-based" restrictions on immigrants seeking to come to the U.S.
• He wants to stop aiding Ukraine to help it fight off Russia's invasion.

What they're saying: "Vivek is just much closer to the actual id of Trump than these other candidates," said Sarah Longwell, Republican political strategist and publisher of The Bulwark.

• "Actual governing experience means you do things like compromise and work with people," she added. What the GOP wants "is a purebred culture warrior."

Zoom in: Ramaswamy has an estimated net worth of $630 million through his biotech and asset management ventures, per Forbes.

• In 2014 he founded biotech firm Roivant Sciences, now a publicly traded company in which he has an 8% stake. Since 2020, he has written books and given speeches against critical race theory, Big Tech censorship, and stakeholder capitalism.

Don't forget: Ramaswamy has never held elected office and isn't known to the vast majority of voters.

• But he's vowed to spend as much as $100 million on his campaign, and already has put $10 million of his own money toward ads and trips to key primary states.