Vivek Ramaswamy suggests only ‘low IQ’ candidates spend on TV ads after report his campaign will no longer buy airtime

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suggested Tuesday that only “low IQ” political candidates spend money on TV ads after a report indicated that his campaign will no longer spend money on TV spots with just weeks to go before the first nominating contests. 

The Ramaswamy campaign had stopped buying cable ads and currently has no TV ad reservation booked ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses and the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, NBC News first reported.

“That’s inaccurate — we didn’t stop all TV spending,” Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamy’s campaign spokeswoman, told The Post. 

Ramaswamy, however, dismissed the importance of TV ad spending in a tweet Tuesday, acknowledging that his campaign is “doing it differently.” 

“Presidential TV ad spending is idiotic, low-ROI & a trick that political consultants use to bamboozle candidates who suffer from low IQ,” the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur wrote on X. 

“We’re doing it differently. Spending $$ in a way that follows data…apparently a crazy idea in US politics. Big surprise coming on Jan 15,” he added. 

The political newcomer’s campaign has spent about $2.2 million on TV, digital and radio ads since early November, according to the outlet, which cited data from ad-tracking firm Adimpact. 

But the campaign’s spending on TV ads has appreciably dropped in December, going from $200,000 in the month’s first full week to just $6,000 last week, according to Adimpact. 

McLaughlin says the Ramaswamy campaign is still spending the same amount of money but is now focusing on non-traditional advertising, arguing that “polls have barely changed” despite nearly $200 million in combined spending on TV ads by all the presidential candidates. 

“Our spending levels haven’t changed — we’re just following the data,” McLaughlin said. “We are focused on bringing out the voters we’ve identified — best way to reach them is using addressable advertising, mail, text, live calls and doors to communicate with our voters on Vivek’s vision for America, making their plan to caucus and turning them out.” 

 McLaughlin acknowledged that the campaign’s shift in spending is unusual. 

“As you know, this isn’t what most campaigns look like. We have intentionally structured this way so that we have the ability to be nimble and hyper-targeted in our ad spending,“ she said. 

“Get ready for a major upset on Jan 15,” McLaughlin added. 

The rest of the GOP primary field, however, is still spending significantly to get on the airwaves ahead of the early nominating contests.  

Last week, former President Donald Trump’s campaign spent $1.1 million on TV ads; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s team spent $1 million; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign spent $270,000; and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie bought $88,000 worth of TV ads, according to NBC News. 

A RealClearPolitics average of polls pegs Ramaswamy with just 5.9% support in the Hawkeye State, well behind Trump’s 51.3% backing, DeSantis’ 18.6% support and Haleys’ 16.1% number. 

Ramaswamy faces similar headwinds in New Hampshire, where he has 6% support, trailing Trump who’s at 46.3% support, Haley at 24.8%, Christie at 10.5%, and DeSantis at 9.5%.