SHOT: Presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis have staked their campaigns on targeting responsible investing (aka ESG):
- Vivek Ramswamy compares U.S. companies to cartels: “BlackRock, State Street, & Vanguard represent arguably the most powerful cartel in human history[…]. As President I will cut off the real hand that guides the ESG movement – not the invisible hand of the free market, but the invisible fist of government itself.”
- Ron DeSantis blames high insurance costs on ‘ESG,’ says he wants to gamble on whether or not climate change will happen: “But I think I’m concerned about this ESG, I’m concerned about them trying to say climate change and everything because that’s going to make some of these things very, very expensive if they’re pricing in all these things that very well may not happen. And that’s new from where we were 20 or 30 years ago.”
CHASER: The Ramaswamy and DeSantis campaigns are in free fall:
- Politico: Republican Presidential Candidates Who Built Their Campaign On “Anti-Woke” Sentiment Against Corporations “Have Run Into Unexpected Headwinds In The Form Of Voter Disinterest.”
- Politico: Candidates “Who Have Anchored Their Campaigns In Attacking Big Business” On ESG Like DeSantis And Ramaswamy “Are Struggling To Gain Significant Traction.”
- New York Times: Ron DeSantis “Who Has Made His Battles With ‘Woke’ Schools And Corporations Central To His Campaign, Is Struggling…”
