Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination following a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.
Charlie Nash of Mediaite covered Ramaswamy’s speech and noted his swift endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Addressing his supporters who braved the frigid temperatures, Ramaswamy announced the suspension of his presidential campaign. “There is no path for me to be the next president, absent things that we don’t want to see happen in this country, and I think that I am very worried for our country,” he conceded after falling behind Trump by more than 40 points. “I think we are skating on thin ice as a nation.”
With less than 48 hours remaining before the caucuses, Trump abruptly turned on Ramaswamy for posting a photo to X of his supporters, who were wearing t-shirts that read “SAVE TRUMP, VOTE VIVEK”:
“Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter, ‘the best President in generations,’ etc. Unfortunately, now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks,” wrote Trump. “Very sly, but a vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ — don’t get duped by this. Vote for ‘TRUMP,’ don’t waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA.”
In a follow-up post on Monday morning, Trump added, “A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE. I LIKE VIVEK, BUT HE PLAYED IT TOO ‘CUTE’ WITH US.”
Ramaswamy responded with his own post warning supporters that a vote for Trump could be a “trap” which would allow “the puppet masters” to “quietly trot Nikki into power” as Trump’s VP.
Despite heavy opposition to the idea from many of Trump’s allies and supporters, the former president has refused to rule out Haley as his potential running mate.
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