Vivek Ramaswamy’s speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night included a strange invitation to young people, which quickly got dumped on by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Our message to Gen Z is this: You’re going to be the generation that actually saves this country,” Ramaswamy said at the RNC. “You want to be a rebel? You want to be a hippie? You want to ‘stick it to the man’? Show up on your college campus and try calling yourself a conservative. Say you want to get married, have kids, teach them to believe in God and pledge allegiance to their country.”
Ocasio-Cortez called out the former presidential candidate on X, saying, “If you want to be cool so badly, try giving a damn about other people beyond yourself. Might open a few doors.”
“Young people don’t take well to bigoted leaders who attack LGBTQ+ rights, outlaw abortion, cozy up to gun manufacturers + oil execs, and support a rapist for President,” Ocasio-Cortez posted.
Young people don’t take well to bigoted leaders who attack LGBTQ+ rights, outlaw abortion, cozy up to gun manufacturers + oil execs, and support a rapist for President.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 17, 2024
If you want to be cool so badly, try giving a damn about other people beyond yourself. Might open a few doors. https://t.co/KSWkw1Rbnb
The New York congresswoman has a point, as Ramaswamy doesn’t have much credibility when it comes to what’s “cool,” unless you count his insane temperature demands while on the campaign trail. He tried to be a libertarian rapper in college known as “Da Vek,” with his out-of-breath bars drawing few, if any fans. On the campaign trail, he tried to use rap to pander to voters, covering Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” his college favorite. But this led to a cease-and-desist from Slim Shady himself, who is completely against Donald Trump and embraces left-wing causes like Black Lives Matter.
If Ramaswamy thinks contrarianism is cool, maybe it’s because he has implied in the past that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job. That’s something he didn’t mention at the RNC, along with his ideas to take away birthright citizenship and severely restrict young people’s right to vote. Young people probably won’t like the fact that he was once very critical of Donald Trump before becoming one of the convicted felon’s biggest fans.
If Ramaswamy wants the Republican Party to attract young people, he might consider keeping his mouth shut. Because if there’s one thing that repels them, it’s an older, out of touch guy telling them how to be cool.
