Vivek Ramaswamy is America’s demagogue-in-waiting | Margaret Sullivan

The Republican debate became the entrepreneur's coming-out party, with the news media boosting him along his way

He thinks the climate crisis is a hoax, supports Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine and would gladly pardon Donald Trump on day 1 of his would-be presidency. A wealthy biotech entrepreneur, the 38-year-old has never before run for public office.

Despite all of this (or maybe because of it), this week's Republican debate became a national coming-out party for Vivek Ramaswamy.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture