Former President Donald Trump and his former Republican primary rival Vivek Ramaswamy recently had an awkward and close interaction on Tuesday at a Trump rally in Atkinson, New Hampshire via Mediate, where it looked to some viewers like they came close to kissing.
During a speech in New Hampshire, Ramaswamy encouraged Republicans to vote for Trump. After the speech, Ramaswamy attempted to perform a handshake with Trump, but Trump opened his arms for a hug, causing an awkward interaction as the two leaned into each other.
Trump jolted back with a surprised expression on his face but then leaned back in as they exchanged words, patted each other on the back, and shook hands. Ramaswamy then moved very close to Trump’s face and whispered something in his ear, but Trump pushed him away while Ramaswamy grinned.
During the encounter, the audience could be heard chanting, “VP!”
“Wow, how was that? Pretty good, right?” said Trump after Ramaswamy left the stage. “That was pretty good, and he’s a fantastic guy and he’s really, uh, he’s got something that’s very special because he started off with a Zippo and he’s got– he ended up very strong. He did a great job.”
Trump concluded, “I was actually surprised when he called because he was doing well.”
Ramaswamy dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump on Monday after coming fourth in the Iowa caucus with just 7.7% of the vote.
