Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has mostly been spared ire from former President Donald Trump, but that 2024 GOP primary kindness went by the wayside Saturday night.
"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 Truth Social as the Iowa caucus moved to less than days away to mere hours.
"Very sly, but a vote for Vivek is a vote for the 'other side' — don't get duped by this."
Trump has been relentless in his criticism of his GOP primary rivals, including saying in an Iowa campaign rally last week that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will sell out their voters just as they sold out Trump by running against him in this primary cycle. Trump has endorsed DeSantis in the past and Haley once told media she would only work to get Trump reelected in 2020 after she left as his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
With Iowa setting the stage for the 2024 GOP primary with the first-in-the-nation caucus Monday, Trump is now treating all three of his chief rivals with the same scorn.
"Vote for 'TRUMP,' don't waste your vote!" Trump added in his post. "Vivek is not MAGA.
"The Biden indictments against his political opponent will never be allowed in this country, they are already beginning to fall! MAGA!!!"
Earlier Saturday, Trump campaign surrogate Kari Lake noted to Newsmax's "Saturday Report" that Ramaswamy's finish might be the only surprise to come Monday after Trump sets what she said will be a record runaway in the Iowa caucus.
While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a strong ground game in Iowa, having completed the "Full Grassley" tour of all 99 counties, named after longtime Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Ramaswamy did the "Full Grassley" twice.
"I think the surprise could be that Vivek Ramaswamy might actually do better than one of these others — perhaps he comes in third place over DeSantis — who knows?" Lake said. "I mean, that's where I think a surprise might be in the position of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on and so on."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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