While Aaron Rodgers went on ESPN and challenged Travis Kelce to a vaccine debate, ESPN and Meadowlark Media’s Pablo Torre vs presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy might be the debate we really need.
Last month, during an appearance on MSNBC, Torre recalled being classmates with Ramaswamy at Harvard. There, he referred to the Republican presidential candidate as “that guy” in a mocking tone. In response to Torre’s MSNBC comment, The New York Post reached out to Ramaswamy’s campaign for comment.
“While Vivek doesn’t recall ever meeting this gentleman, we wish Pablo the very best and hope he finds success in his career and life whether that be through talking about former classmates as he is now or possibly through something more productive like creating jobs or building a business as Vivek has done,” Tricia McLaughlin, senior advisor and communications director for Ramaswamy, told The Post via email.
Torre then responded to Ramaswamy’s campaign response, telling The Post, “lol.”
During his MSNBC appearance, Torre said, “For 20 years, I have been making jokes about that guy from school…that guy to me, is the guy who always raised his hand in class…that guy is somebody who is insanely ambitious and insanely image-conscious, but also totally numb to the idea that everyone around them is cringing.”
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According to Torre, Ramaswamy would raise his hand in the shape of a V, noting, “It was like he was shining his own bat signal for terrible libertarian takes as a freshman in college.”
“That guy,” who allegedly offered terrible libertarian takes as a freshman in college, is now a 38-year-old Republican presidential candidate running on a pro-fossil fuel platform under the guise that climate change is a hoax.
Last month, Torre appeared on The Awful Announcing Podcast where he was asked about his decision to forego Harvard Law, and whether he ever feels like that choice did himself or society a disservice after opting to build a career in sports media instead. While Torre isn’t creating jobs or building his own business, as Ramaswamy’s senior advisor and communications director suggested, the podcast host still sees value in his sports media work.
“’What could we have done?’ is sort of this tantalizing idea when we’re talking about real world problems,” Torre said on The Awful Announcing Podcast. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, the guy who’s tasked with solving this though, I went to school with. I know that guy. I was in a class with that guy and that guy sucks! Why am I not trying to solve the issue of our broken American political system?’”
“I went to a school that produces presidential candidates,” Torre continued. “I went to school with Vivek Ramaswamy and now I’m watching him try to con America into electing him president. As much as I complain about that, rightfully, I also know in the back of my head that the best counter to him is to do something about it yourself.”
“And so, I’m not gonna do that, because running for president is psychosh*t. But I am definitely aware of the ways in which I need to make sure that what I do is meaningful. And sports media, to me, is meaningful. It is, unapologetically. Sports is meaningful to me, unapologetically. Because inside of those words, sports and media, you can talk about everything.”
Ramaswamy has not named a running mate, should he overcome the odds to get that far as a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. But Torre sounds unlikely to accept any potential offer to rejoin his former classmate.
