Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump for re-election.
Ramaswamy ended his campaign shortly after the Iowa caucus late Monday night. With 93% of votes counted, the entrepreneur garnered just under 8% support, totaling over 8,000 votes, per the Associated Press.
"As I've said since the beginning, there are two America First candidates in this race," Ramaswamy told his camp in Iowa, "earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory."
"Now, going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency," Ramaswamy added.
After handily securing his Iowa win, Trump addressed his own camp in Des Moines and thanked fellow GOP contenders, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for their efforts in the Iowa caucus. Trump also lauded Ramaswamy's performance in Monday's caucus.
"He did a hell of a job," Trump said. "He came from zero, and he got ... probably 8%."
"That's an amazing job," Trump added.
Despite his previous praise for Ramaswamy throughout the primary season, Trump came out against the entrepreneur over the weekend, saying he was "not MAGA" in a Truth Social post.
"Unfortunately, now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks," he wrote. "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," Trump continued. "The Biden Indictments against his Political Opponent will never be allowed in this Country, they are already beginning to fall! MAGA!!!"
Ramaswamy cordially responded to Trump's post, saying he would not engage in "friendly fire" with the former President.
The entrepreneur also reiterated his concern for Trump's legal battles and potential "Big Tech election interference" this November.
"Our movement must live on. America-First didn’t start in 2016. It started in 1776," he continued. "We owe it to our Founding Fathers to do the right thing for our country. I want to save Trump & to save this country. Let’s do it together."
On Monday morning, Trump shared another post to Truth Social insisting a vote for Ramaswamy was a "wasted vote."
"I LIKE VIVEK, BUT HE PLAYED IT TOO 'CUTE' WITH US," Trump wrote. "CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD THE NUMBERS!!!"
"IN NOVEMBER, WE MUST TAKE OUR VERY TROUBLED NATION," Trump's post continued. "A NATION IN DECLINE — BACK FROM CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS AND THUGS WHO ARE DESTROYING IT. MAGA!!!"
In an unprecedented move, corporate media outlets, including The New York Times, Fox News, and NBC News, projected Trump as the Iowa caucus winner shortly after the polls closed. The Associated Press notably projected Trump as the victor of the night with under 1% of precincts reporting.
Trump had garnered just over 70% of votes, followed by DeSantis with 15.1%, Haley with 8.2% and Ramaswamy with 5.8% with just under 500 votes counted.
