Vivek Ramaswamy leaves social media platforms

As this year’s gubernatorial race jumps into full swing, Ohio Republican 2026 gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced his decision to leave social media, claiming that he decided to do so after talking to Italy’s Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, who allegedly isn’t on social media apps.

Ramaswamy claimed in his op-ed titled “Social Media Is a Trap for Politicians,” published by the Wall Street Journal, that he decided to follow Meloni’s advice and not engage with people on social media platforms, especially X.

“On New Year’s Eve, I deleted X and Instagram from my phone. I’ll spend my newfound time listening to more voters in real-world Ohio, developing more policies to make our state affordable, and being more present with my family,” he wrote. “I predict that ending my consumption of social media will make me a better leader and a happier man.”

According to Ramaswamy, even though his campaign team would still operate his social media accounts, he would not “browse any of it myself.” Ramaswamy said he decided to do it because of the “negative and bombastic” messages he had been receiving since his speech at AmericaFest last month, highlighting the contrast between the real and online worlds.

“I delivered a speech arguing that the U.S. is a nation defined above all by ideals, not shared bloodlines. Based on social-media comments beforehand, I expected to be booed. If you scrolled through them after, you’d believe that’s what happened,” he wrote. “But in reality, I received a standing ovation from a politically engaged audience of well over 20,000 attendees.”

As an additional reason to leave the social media platforms, Ramaswamy cited the “spate of shocking racial slurs and worse on social media.”

The news came after Ramsawamy announced he would rebrand himself as a more moderate candidate to secure Gov. Mike DeWine’s endorsement. DeWine endorsed Ramsawamy on Tuesday.

Casey Putsch, who is also running as a Republican in Ohio’s 2026 gubernatorial race, mocked Ramaswamy for his recent decision.

“Which is it, Vivek? Should politicians engage with their voters on social media or not? Why are you really leaving X? I’m not going anywhere,” he wrote.

Putsch announced last month that he is running for governor to stop Ramaswamy from winning the election, going as far as saying in his video that Ramaswamy being born inside the United States is not enough for him to be considered an American because he is still ethnically Indian.

“At all costs, we must stop Vivek,” he said.

Ramaswamy has drawn the ire of some conservatives for suggesting “year-long” schools and appearing on the list of speakers at an anti-Trump tech company’s website.