This argument "the libs will stop at nothing to destroy Trump, so nominate me instead!" is such a serious misread of the MAGA mentality. https://t.co/AWkN2QhMjM
— River_Tam (@RiverTamYDN) January 14, 2024
There’s always been a strong WWE flavor to Vivek Ramaswamy’s candidacy — copied, along with much else, from his ‘idol’ TFG — so a last-minute heel turn was an obvious last-minute arc.
Reasoning has always been that Vivek was running (a) for a chance, however slim, to become Trump’s new VP candidate; and (b) to increase his right-wing media visibility and boost his payouts for future speeches, promos, and outright scams. Neither Trump nor Ramaswamy can be trusted to be truthful — quite possibly neither of them can tell what’s true from what they choose to believe right at this very moment — so Vivek’s last-minute “Save our ancient, failing god-emperor from an ignominious electoral death, vote ME!!!” stratagem will just have to go into the history books as a farcical footnote to the various GOP October Surprise sagas…
Per Bloomberg, “Trump Turns on Ramaswamy, Telling Iowans ‘Don’t Get Duped’”:
Former President Donald Trump trained his sights on rival Vivek Ramaswamy, casting him as a threat to his Make America Great Again movement in what appeared to be a shift in strategy two days before the Iowa caucuses.
“Vote for ‘TRUMP,’ don’t waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA,” Trump said as he arrived in Iowa on Saturday night. The comments, which appeared in a social media post, ended what had been an informal marriage of convenience with the 38-year-old Ohio entrepreneur and first-time political candidate…
An Iowa State University/Civiqs poll this week found that Ramaswamy was getting only 8% support but was the second choice of 30% of Iowa Republicans. Ramaswamy has campaigned aggressively in the state, visiting all 99 counties at least twice in a feat he called the “Double Grassley” after Iowa’s senior senator.
With Trump boycotting primary debates, Ramaswamy had served as a stand-in for Trump’s policies during bouts on stage with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Trump allies praised Ramaswamy after his performances — as they trained attacks on DeSantis and Haley — fueling speculation that he could be Trump’s running mate.
But no more.
“Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter,” Trump told followers on his platform Truth Social. “Unfortunately, now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks. Very sly, but a vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ — don’t get duped by this.”…
Tension had been building between Trump and Ramaswamy for weeks, according to people familiar with Trump’s thinking. Ramaswamy told NBC News earlier this month that Trump was “wounded” and it was time for the party to look for new leadership, raising the president’s ire.
But the final straw came a little more than an hour before Trump’s broadside, when Ramaswamy posted a photo on X, showing him with supporters in T-shirts saying, “Save Trump. Vote Vivek.”
Are any of these dudes even old enough to vote?
Just when I thought he was a decent guy – ‘Save Trump, Vote for Vivek?’
Exploiting Trumps legal troubles is a cut-throat move. We’ll vote for trump because he’s Trump, and he’s being attacked, not for Vivek, as if he’s his savior! No more @VivekGRamaswamy pic.twitter.com/37g05mFizb— ????ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) January 14, 2024
Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Iowa Caucus <em>Vivek Heel-Turn!!!</em>Post + Comments (124)