‘Feels like a good book': Vivek Ramaswamy pokes fun of ‘funniest gift' received on birthday; jests about NYC race
Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy used his 40th birthday to deliver a political punchline that quickly spread online.
Sharing a video on X, Ramaswamy showed off what he called the 'funniest gift' from his high school friend.
The book, titled 'Why Socialism Works', turned out to be blank inside, every page simply read, 'It Doesn't.
'
In the clip, Ramaswamy flips through the book with a grin, remarking: 'Feels like a good book for maybe some of the opponents in the New York mayoral race, but that's not my business.'
Posting the video, he added a pointed caption: 'Funniest gift I got for my 40th birthday, from my high school buddy Cory Ingle. Feels like there are some mayoral candidates in NYC who'd do well to get this.'
The post quickly drew laughs and light-hearted replies. One user quipped, 'I hope the author made a lot of money selling that book lol.' Another wrote, 'We need this for every politician in DC too.'
Others kept it simple, wishing him a happy birthday while enjoying the joke.
The timing of the post also tied neatly into Ramaswamy's campaign messaging. The Indian-origin billionaire, who resigned from the department of government efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year to run for Ohio governor in 2026, has leaned heavily on a capitalism-versus-socialism theme.
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His super PAC, Victors Not Victims, recently funded a Times Square billboard warning New Yorkers about mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani, branding him a 'radical socialist' while casting Ramaswamy as a defender of 'freedom.'
Sharing the poster on X, Ramaswamy wrote, "Capitalism defeats socialism. There's a better way: move to Ohio."
Yet even as he sharpened his ideological attack, Ramaswamy urged critics to avoid personal jibes at Mamdani's Ugandan-Indian background. Writing in an op-ed published in the New York Post, he said, 'The real problem with Mamdani isn't his race or religion. It's his anti-capitalist worldview and his policies that risk destroying our nation's largest city.'
For Ramaswamy, the gag gift doubled as both a birthday laugh and another jab in a campaign built on contrasting socialism with what he describes as the 'revival of the American dream' in Ohio.
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Asia has now bypassed other regions as the largest producer, exporter, importer, and consumer of goods. With many heralding the 21st century as the Asian century, Bose's book highlights what potential connections and collaborations between Asian nations could look like. He also explores what it would take for the continent to chart a future that 'expands and not destroys the aspirations of humanity'. In the preface, the author says that he has written the book 'in an accessible literary style for a broad readership'. Indeed, interesting anecdotes, such as about Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru rushing to help Chinese First Lady Madame Chiang put on her shoes during a visit to Shantiniketan, make Bose's historical exploration and arguments engaging. While the book largely eschews jargon and does not require an intimate knowledge of 20th-century history, it would have been good if it had provided more context for the non-scholar. Take, for example, the idea of Asia vis-a-vis Europe. 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Or would it replicate the hegemonic influence of wealthy western European nations over the idea of Europe? A deeper exploration of these debates would have helped better contextualise Bose's cogent and insightful account. Syed Saad Ahmed is a journalist and communications professional. In 2024, he was selected as a Boston Congress of Public Health Thought Leadership Fellow. He speaks five languages and has taught English in France.
