Vivek Ramaswamy ends his 2024 US presidential campaign, endorses Donald Trump

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Jan 16, 2024, 10:11 AM IST

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has decided to suspend his 2024 US presidential bid. The 38-year-old entrepreneur made the announcement on Tuesday after former US President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucus.

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has dropped out of the race and has endorsed Donald Trump. The biotech entrepreneur said that he is ending his campaign after a disappointing finish in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses. The 38-year-old entrepreneur made the announcement on Tuesday after former US President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucus.

"As I have said since the beginning, there are two America first candidates in this race and I called Donald Trump to tell him that," he told his supporters following Monday’s Iowa Caucus, adding, "I congratulated him on his victory and now going forward he will have my full endorsement for the presidency, and I think we're gonna do the right thing for this country.”

Vivek Ramaswamy: "We did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight...as of this moment we are going to suspend this presidential campaign..." pic.twitter.com/U7jRJBk8A7

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Despite being relatively unknown in political circles when he entered the campaign in February 2023, Ramaswamy was able to attract the attention and support of Republican voters by emphasising America first and holding strong views on immigration. In terms of tone and policies, his campaign plan was quite similar to that of the former president, Donald Trump. Ramaswamy sought to tap into the conservative base that had propelled Trump to success in previous elections.

In Iowa, Ramaswamy finished fourth, securing around 7.7% of the votes. Ramaswamy, an Ohio native, born to immigrant parents from Kerala, emerged as one of the unexpected contenders in a Republican field still dominated by Trump's reputation.

Earlier, he praised Trump as “the best president of the 21st century”. However, he urged that Republicans should back “fresh legs” and “take our America First agenda to the next level”.

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