2003 Video of Ramaswamy, 18, Challenging Sharpton Goes Viral

During an October 2003 MSNBC town hall ahead of the 2004 election, then-Harvard student Vivek Ramaswamy, 18, posed a question to then-Democrat candidate Rev. Al Sharpton about his lack of experience compared to the race hustler’s two Party rivals, then-sitting Senators John Edwards and John Kerry, against President George W. Bush.

“Of all the Democratic candidates out there, why should I vote for the one with the least political experience?” the future Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy asked.

“Well, you shouldn’t, because I have the most political experience,” Sharpton responded, sparking laughs and applause from the audience. “I got involved in the political movement when I was 12 years old. And I’ve been involved in social policy for the last 30 years, so don’t confuse people that have a job with political experience.”

That old clip went viral over the weekend. Reacting to it on Monday, Ramaswamy wrote on social media, “I’ll give the 18-year-old version of myself a pat-on-the-back for eliciting the most sensible words ever to come from that man’s mouth. 20 years later, it’s funny how the tables have turned.”