Amid all of the speculative talk about who former President Donald Trump might select as his 2024 running mate, GOP primary challenger and business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has frequently earned a mention in large part due to his general alignment with Trump's "America First" and MAGA agenda.
However, following some sharp criticism of Ramaswamy from Trump on the eve of the Iowa Caucuses, a senior Trump adviser suggested that Ramaswamy is likely no longer in contention to be the vice presidential nominee, according to the New York Post.
Throughout the GOP primary season thus far, former President Trump and Ramaswamy had largely refrained from being critical of each other and, in fact, were often complimentary instead, which fueled the rumors that Ramaswamy could be rewarded for his loyalty with a prime position in a future Trump administration, perhaps even the VP slot.
All of that changed over the weekend, though, as Trump lashed out on Truth Social against his ostensible competitor ahead of the Iowa Caucuses and urged voters not to be "duped" to support or"waste your vote" for the "deceitful" and "sly" candidate who "is not MAGA."
Interestingly enough, Ramaswamy declined to fight fire with fire, and in response said on social media, "Yes, I saw President Trump’s Truth Social post. It’s an unfortunate move by his campaign advisors, I don’t think friendly fire is helpful."
The young challenger added, "Donald Trump was the greatest President of the 21st century, and I’m not going to criticize him in response to this late attack."
The New York Post reported Sunday that top Trump adviser Jason Miller suggested that everybody could "probably" rule Ramaswamy out as a potential vice presidential candidate for the former president in the general election, given what Trump had posted about him over the weekend.
Miller told the outlet that in terms of who Trump might pick to be his running mate, it was "Pretty safe to say it won’t be Vivek."
Yet, in light of the deferential reaction Ramaswamy had to Trump's unsolicited pre-caucus attacks, not to mention his conciliatory outreach to the GOP frontrunner in the immediate aftermath of the Iowa election handily won by the former president, Ramaswamy may have re-endeared himself to Trump and maintained a position on Trump's list of prospective vice presidents.
"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," Ramaswamy posted Monday night. "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."
The former president shared a screenshot on his Truth Social account of that message from Ramaswamy and wrote in response, "Thank you Vivek, a Great Honor!"
USA Today reported last month on the handful of likely possibilities to be chosen as former President Trump's 2024 running mate, and that list of prominent Republican figures who are generally or outspokenly allied with Trump included Ramaswamy along with several members of Congress, a few current, former, and would-be governors, and one former Cabinet member.
Earning mention on the list of VP contenders were Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, along with former Housing and Urban Development Sec. Ben Carson as well as former South Carolina governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
As for all of the reported rumors about Trump's possible VP pick and other senior administration appointments, an unnamed Trump campaign spokesperson told the outlet, "Second term policy priorities and staffing decisions will not -- in no uncertain terms -- be led by anonymous or thinly sourced speculation in mainstream media news stories," and added, "President Trump is solely focused on winning the Republican nomination for president."
