An old video of Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as a young Harvard student questioning the Rev. Al Sharpton about his “political experience” has gone viral on social media.
“Of all the Democratic candidates out there, why should I vote for the one with the least political experience?” the then 18-year-old Ramaswamy asked during an October 2003 presidential town hall on MSNBC’s “HardBall with Chris Matthews.”
“Well, you shouldn’t because I have the most political experience,” Sharpton quipped. “I got involved in the political movement when I was 12 years old, and I have been involved in social policy for the last 30 years.”
Sharpton, who was a Democratic presidential candidate for the 2004 presidential election, quickly reminded Ramaswamy not to “confuse people who have a job with political experience.”
The clip has resurfaced at a time when the GOP hopeful faces growing questions over his own candidacy.
During last week’s Republican primary debate, several candidates took aim at Ramaswamy, raising concerns about the biotech entrepreneur’s nonpolitical background and his age. Former Vice President Mike Pence attacked the youngest presidential candidate, saying “we don’t need to bring in a rookie,” while Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, said “you have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.”
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Although 27 percent of GOP voters surveyed thought Ramaswamy won the debate, a recent poll from Emerson College revealed that support for the fiery biotech entrepreneur dropped from 10 percent to 9 percent after the event. National polls also show that Ramaswamy is placing third with 7.5 percent behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who has 13 percent — and former President Trump, who continues to dominate the GOP field with 53 percent.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ramaswamy reacted to the viral video, saying that he would give the 18-year-old version of himself “a pat-on-the-back for eliciting the most sensible words ever to come from that man’s mouth.”