Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he can handle the heat. As it turns out, not only is that not true but he sometimes even loses his cool.
While on the campaign trail, Ramaswamy likes to portray himself as someone who has everything under control and can roll with the punches. But former employees at his companies say he was an exceptionally demanding boss, particularly when it came to office temperature, Business Insider reported Friday.
The former employees, speaking anonymously, said that Ramaswamy insisted office thermostats be set to 64 degrees or lower. It would be so cold in the offices that people had to wear fleece jackets inside and use space heaters at their desks.
Ramaswamy hired former Army Rangers as his bodyguards. At one point, his campaign hired three at once. In addition to ensuring the safety of Ramaswamy and his family, one of the Rangers’ main jobs was to arrive at his hotel rooms before he did and make sure they were cold enough for his liking.
Former employees acknowledged that Ramaswamy is a hard worker but said he could be quite inflexible as a boss. When a colleague suggested people be allowed to leave early on summer Fridays, Ramaswamy snapped.
“He lost his cool completely and went off on a rant about summer Fridays and how dare anyone ask about that,” one of the former employees said.
Another of Ramaswamy’s demands was for a serving of cottage cheese to be ready and waiting on his desk every morning. If he ordered takeout for lunch, he insisted that his assistant put the food on a plate and serve it to him.
“He thinks people are put on this earth to serve him,” a person who worked closely with Ramaswamy told Insider.
Ramaswamy’s campaign spokesperson confirmed that “Vivek likes it chilly” in the office but denied the other accusations. But the reported behavior actually tracks with what Ramaswamy has shown of himself so far.
The biotech entrepreneur is brash and overly self-assured, remaining convinced he is right even when his ideas are terrible. Ramaswamy has openly embraced making Eminem angry, pushing conspiracy theories, caving to autocratic leaders, and using his campaign to evade lawsuits.