Ramaswamy Suggests He Would Want Musk as Adviser If He Wins Election

In a recent Iowa town hall, GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy voiced admiration for tech magnate Elon Musk, hinting at naming Musk an adviser in his administration.

Ramaswamy, a stalwart conservative entrepreneur, emphasized the importance of infusing fresh perspectives into governance, according to a report from The Hill.

“I’ve enjoyed getting to know better Elon Musk recently,” the Republican presidential candidate said. “I expect him to be an interesting adviser of mine because he laid off 75% of the employees at Twitter.”

The candidate has been vocal about his appreciation for Musk’s leadership style, especially after Musk’s acquisition and restructuring of the social media giant, Twitter, now rebranded as X.

He sees parallels between Musk’s management approach and his vision for governance, according to remarks made during a Fox News interview.

“What he did at Twitter is a good example of what I want to do to the administrative state,” Ramaswamy said. “Take out the 75% of the dead weight cost, improve the actual experience of what it’s supposed to do.”

“He put an X through Twitter, I’ll put a big X through the administrative state,” continued Ramaswamy. “So, that’s where I’m at on common tactics with Elon.”

Musk made national headlines with his acquisition of Twitter and subsequent workforce reduction from nearly 8,000 to approximately 1,500.

The tech entrepeneur confirmed in a BBC interview that the purchase was made for a whopping $44 billion last autumn.

While Musk has previously shown support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he recently described Ramaswamy as a “very promising candidate.”

Ramaswamy’s campaign has been gaining momentum, narrowing the gap with other GOP contenders, but all GOP challengers trail former President Donald Trump by double digits.

A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll highlighted DeSantis’ second-place standing in the GOP race at 12%, with Ramaswamy trailing him by four points.

This marks a significant shift from July when DeSantis held a 20-point lead over Ramaswamy. Trump received a dominant 52% in the same poll, according to The Hill report.