Opinion polls point to a likely contest between President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump in the 2024 general election but venture capitalist and SPAC sponsor Chamath Palihapitiya has a different view.
The 2024 White House is highly viewed as a rematch between Biden and Trump. Both are facing obstacles as Trump is dealing with his legal troubles, and Biden is facing questions about his age and the state of the economy.
The contender who understands that there should be no more wars and the need for zero-based budgeting for the U.S. government will get many votes, Palihapitiya said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“The first keeps us safe and the second will keep us from going broke,” he said.
Zero budgeting is the practice of allocating a budget based on the efficiency of the programs and the programs’ utility rather than based on past allocations. It is noted that the U.S. is struggling under a massive debt pile, thanks to the extravagant spending by the government.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s stance on the Ukraine war is to cede territory occupied by Russia in eastern Ukraine in return for Russia exiting its military alliance with China. He also suggested he would block Ukraine’s entry into NATO and end sanctions against Russia.
When one of Palihapitiya’s followers on the platform asked him which of the candidates met these criteria, Palihapitiya mentioned the names of Robert Kennedy Jr. and Ramaswamy. These two are contesting in the Democratic and Republican primary races, respectively.
Ramaswamy is a former CEO of Roivant Sciences, a healthcare company focused on applying technology for drug development.
Like Trump, Ramaswamy has not held any political office prior to his announcement of running for president.
According to polling data provider FiveThirtyEight, Kennedy and Ramaswamy have the support of 14.7% and 6.1% of voters, respectively, in their respective primary races.
Trump is the frontrunner in the GOP fray with a commanding 55.2% of support and Biden leads in the Democratic primary with 63.4% support.
Palihapitiya said in a recent episode of the All-In Podcast that Ramaswamy has convinced him in the past few months that he was fiscally responsible.
The SPAC also predicted that Ramaswamy is about to pass Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“He will be the clear number two between four and eight weeks from now,” he said. Once Ramaswamy leapfrogs DeSantis, then all the MAGA supporters will begin to ask, ‘Well, do I want the 80-year-old Trump or I do want the 38-year-old Trump?’” Palihapitiya said.
Produced in association with Benzinga
