Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur who turned into an America First presidential candidate, just suspended his campaign and pledged his support for former President Donald Trump after the results of the Iowa Caucuses. Vivek only won about 8% of the vote, as opposed to former President Trump’s massive 50% haul of the vote.
As Iowa splits its delegates proportionally, Trump will receive 20 of the 40 delegates, DeSantis will get 8, Haley will get 7 delegates, and Vivek will get 2 delegates, with the remainder being unallocated. To win the Republican primary, a candidate needs to win 1,215 total delegates.
Speaking about the decision after the Iowa results rolled in, Vivek said that his campaign was “founded on speaking the truth not just when it’s easy but when it’s hard.” Continuing, he added, “I looked at every which way, and I think it’s true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight… As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. There is no path for me to be the next president.”
Further, throwing his support behind Trump for 2024, Vivek said, “Earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency.”
Vivek even announced, during the speech, that he would appear alongside Trump in New Hampshire to help him win that state, saying, “I’m going to appear with Donald Trump at a rally in New Hampshire to lay out what I see and what we see for the future of the country.”
Continuing, he called on his supporters to help him and Trump save America, saying, “And you know what we’re going to do our part to save this country. And I’m going to ask you guys to celebrate, not the end of this campaign, but the beginning of the next phase of our movement. So may our best days be ahead of us guys, God bless you.”
He also noted the long odds his campaign faced, saying, “Nobody knew who we were, nobody knew what we were up to. And together, we have created a movement that I think is going to carry our nation to the next level. And for that all of the Patriots across this state across this country, everybody watching on the live stream, we are so grateful to you. And I promise you this, we are just getting started in leading this movement to our future, okay.”
Vivek said much the same thing in a post about the primary and his endorsement on X, saying, “This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want.”
Continuing, he endorsed Trump, saying, “Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country.” Trump, responding to Vivek’s endorsement in a post on Truth Social, said, “Thank you Vivek, a Great Honor!”
Watch Vivek here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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