ESPN host and sportswriter Pablo Torre recently shared anecdotes from his college days with entrepreneur and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, shedding light on his obvious persona during their time at Harvard University.
In an episode of his podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre reminisced about Ramaswamy's college days, referring to him as "That Guy" on campus. According to Torre, "That Guy" is typically a "campus celebrity" characterized by considerable ambition and a keen awareness of their public image.
Torre recounted that during their freshman year, Ramaswamy was renowned on campus for adopting an alter ego known as "Da Vek," a libertarian rapper. Ramaswamy's college reputation revolved around his unconventional behaviors and willingness to push boundaries, even if they left others cringing.
Torre later appeared on MSNBC to elaborate further, saying Ramaswamy was "insanely ambitious" and "insanely image-conscious" while the two were at Harvard.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Torre expanded on Ramaswamy's college persona, describing it as a blend of "Obama karaoke" that is eager to portray Ramaswamy as "what a smart person looks like" when it's what "an extreme, ridiculous person looks like."
He said:
"For 20 years, I've been making jokes about 'That Guy' from school. 'That Guy,' there's a taxonomy to him ... to me, he's always that guy that raised his hand in class."
"He's insanely ambitious and insanely image-conscious but also totally numb to the idea that everyone around him is cringing. So Vivek, in lecture, in Moral Philosophy class, hundreds of kids, would raise his hand."
"And every time he raised his hand, he would do it in a specific way that I remember, in the shape of a 'V' and it was like he was shining his own bat signal for terrible libertarian takes as a freshman in college."
"He was always a contrarian. As a tool of the 'deep state' here to undermine his campaign, I've been instructed to remind people that the dude has been ridiculous for 20 years."
Many were not surprised by these recollections and rolled their eyes at Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy has continued to rattle the GOP with his contrarian takes.
While Ramaswamy now portrays himself as a "threat to the system" and openly criticizes the Republican establishment, it appears that he was eager to be a part of that very system just a year ago.
Documents obtained by Politico and interviews with individuals familiar with his efforts shed light on his desire to secure a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention (RNC) and his willingness to engage with the party.
Ramaswamy went so far as to draft a speech that was shared with RNC officials ahead of the convention. Following the submission of his draft speech, the RNC offered a sponsorship package to Ramaswamy, whose campaign spokesperson said he "declined" because he "didn't want to play the game."