US Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy hit out at Republican rivals for attacking him and said knives are out because he is surging ahead in the race for the White House.

“We are continuing to surge in the race, and that means the knives are continuing to come out, so we’re going to keep debunking the myths as they come up because I think it’s important to be transparent and address criticisms,” Ramaswamy said in a social media post on Thursday.

After his impressive performance in the first Republican primary presidential debate on August 23, Ramaswamy’s adversaries, like former vice president Mike Pence, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, have begun to direct some of their public and private attacks towards him.

“That’s part of what it means. If you can’t handle the heat, you stay out of the kitchen. I’m running for president of the United States. So, we’re going to address any of these criticisms as they come out,” Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy went ahead to give his explanation of some of the criticism against him that has come out in the last few days.

Referring to his accomplishments in biotech, Ramaswamy said, “That was part of how I had success in the world of biotech. That is how you actually create value and make money without apologising for it. What I teach young people across this country is, you know what? You’re going to go through hardship. Not everything you do is going to succeed, but hardship isn’t the same thing as victimhood. Hardship is what teaches you who you are.”