Death of a Salesman

By July and August, when he went viral for karaoke-rapping Eminem at the Iowa State Fair, Ramaswamy was basking in the glow of newfound political fame.
By July and August, when he went viral for karaoke-rapping Eminem at the Iowa State Fair, Ramaswamy was basking in the glow of newfound political fame. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Peter Hamby
October 16, 2023

Vivek Ramaswamy’s flash-in-the-pan presidential campaign was already well on its way to its predictable end—a forgettable, single-digit finish in Iowa followed by a pledge of fealty to Donald Trump—but Sean Hannity put an early nail in his coffin last week on Fox News.

Hannity asked Ramaswamy about comments he had made, in a separate interview with Tucker Carlson, suggesting that his Republican rival Nikki Haley’s support for Israel was driven by financial motives. Ramaswamy, in his usual way, tried to dodge, talking a mile a minute and claiming that Hannity was mischaracterizing his words. That set the host off.