Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate and now a co-chairman of the Forward Party, is offering guidance to conservative entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as 2024 approaches.
“I don’t agree with Vivek on a lot of things. I also don’t know him and haven’t spoken to him. But I vastly prefer him to, let’s say, the big orange frontrunner in the Republican field,” Yang wrote in Politico.
Many have compared Yang and Ramaswamy, he said, because “we’re both young (in political years in particular) with new ideas, tech-savvy, Asian and really, really good-looking,” and he offered Ramaswamy advice “in the spirit of helping a fellow techie beat Trump in the primary.”
Yang laid out nine bullet points of counsel, ranging from “stay positive” to “emphasize electability.”
Former President Trump “dominates memes. A lot of people see them. You are Internet-friendly, but most of the social media you put out are slick videos or snippets from media appearances,” Yang said, writing to Ramaswamy and urging him to lean into “#Ramaswamaniacs” as he leaned into “#YangGang” during his presidential campaign.
“Trump owns the Internet. If you change that you become a real threat,” he said.
Ramaswamy should say “yes to every media request that comes in,” Yang said. “This is a great contrast to what other candidates will do with their careful and deliberate press strategies. You’re 37 years old. You can out-energy other candidates.” Yang also urged the Republican to position himself in contrast to GOP competitors who “seem miserable” and share messages “of anger, grievance and despair.”
Among the other bullet points of advice, Yang suggested Ramaswamy “take a break” leading up to the first GOP debate, talk more about artificial intelligence on the campaign trail and use his reported $600 million net worth to “buy advertising early, staff up, donate to local candidates and non-profits and make friends.”
Yang ran for president as a Democrat in 2020. He said he was leaving the party in 2021 and announced plans for his new third party.
“When I ran for president, I won the Iowa youth straw poll and was named ‘Candidate I’d most want to get a beer with.’ So why didn’t I break through? Everyone likes to win. The threshold question for Democrats was, ‘Who can beat Trump?’ They chose Biden. This time for Republicans, it’s, ‘Who can beat Biden?’” Yang wrote.
Ramaswamy has polled well behind former Trump in recent 2024 surveys, though Trump has said he’s “pleased” to see his fellow GOP candidate “doing so well.”
“The thing I like about Vivek is that he only has good things to say about ‘President Trump’ and all that the Trump Administration has so successfully done. This is the reason he is doing so well,” he said.