Vivek Ramaswamy and Donald Trump appeared on stage together at a campaign event at the Atkinson Resort and Country Club in Atkinson, New Hampshire, a day after Ramaswamy dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on January 16. At the event, Trump dropped a hint that Ramaswamy may work as part of his cabinet in the recent future.
“And he’s a fantastic guy. And he’s got something that’s very special because he started off with a zippo and he ended up very strong,” Trump said.
“He did a great job. I was actually surprised when he called because he was doing well. And it’s an honour to have his endorsement. He’s going to be working with us and he’ll be working with us for a long time,” Trump added, as Ramaswamy left the stage. The crowd was seen shouting “VP, VP.”
Just two days before the Iowa caucuses, Trump criticised Ramaswamy publicly for the first time. “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,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The attack stemmed from shirts saying ‘Save Trump, Vote Vivek’ that Ramaswamy’s campaign had been handing out. Ramaswamy posted a photo with a group of men wearing those shirts, which came to Trump’s notice.
Appearing in Hampshire, however, Ramaswamy showered praises on Trump, calling him a “commander-in-chief.” “But I’ll tell you, the people of Iowa spoke loud and clear last night. And I’m a big believer that we the people create a government that is accountable to us, not the other way around, that we the people choose who leads this country,” he said.
“And so we heard we the people last night. And that is why last evening, I met my friend here. We met in person, and I told him that I would endorse Donald J. Trump for president of the United States and do everything in my power to lead us to victory in this war,” Ramaswamy added.
